Just weeks after graduating from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Darnell Adler won the top prize in a global innovation competition for students and first-time founders.
Adler’s startup, Lifeline AI, won Red Bull Basement’s 2026 World Final in San Francisco, earning $100,000 in equity-free funding, $25,000 in Microsoft Azure credits and mentorship from Red Bull Ventures.
The competition drew more than 135,000 ideas from 40 countries. Adler’s winning concept is a personal safety platform designed to help people discreetly call for help in moments when taking out a phone and speaking or dialing 911 may be unsafe.
For Adler, who graduated in May with a degree in economics from USC Dornsife, the victory capped a whirlwind few weeks that included final exams, graduation and two rounds of high-stakes pitching. It also brought him back to his hometown, where his family was in the audience when Lifeline AI was named the global winner.
USC Dornsife News spoke with Adler about the idea behind Lifeline AI, what it was like to win on a world stage and how his USC Dornsife experience helped prepare him to build something he hopes will make people safer.