From hackathon idea to govtech startup serving Nebraska cities

From hackathon idea to govtech startup serving Nebraska cities

In November 2025, Neal Agarwal and Akash Setti set out on the short drive from Omaha to Fort Calhoun to pitch that city’s officials on their new startup: CityVerse AI, a tool that helps track and report maintenance work, including by pulling data from photos using artificial intelligence.  The 23-year-olds were “sweating bullets,” Setti said. It was their first pitch outside of Omaha. As they drove, Agarwal and Setti had their pitch deck pulled …