U of A Graduate Earns Innovation Pacesetter Award for HealthTech Startup

Hidalga Technologies, a startup with roots at the U of A, is dedicated to improving oncology care timelines and was recently named the 2026 Innovation Pacesetter by Arkansas Business.

Overseen by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group, the awards program is designed to recognize outstanding businesses and nonprofit organizations from across the state.

Joshua Upshaw, Hidalga's founder and CEO, accepted the award last week in Little Rock. Upshaw completed his Doctor of Philosophy in psychology at the U of A in 2025.

"The key to any entrepreneurial success truly is friends, family and faith," Upshaw said.

Hidalga is building software to clear the path to cancer care by optimizing prior authorization workflows. Their solution aims to reduce administrative task time more than 50% and increase patient throughput by 30%, in turn minimizing reimbursement delays and enhancing patient outcomes.

A client of U of A's Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, Hidalga was awarded a $304,935 grant last fall from the National Science Foundation. The SBIR Phase 1 grant will support development of an AI-enabled platform that optimizes prior authorization workflows in oncology clinics.

Hidalga Technologies is actively seeking early clinical partners, particularly community oncology clinics, to help shape and pilot their prior authorization workflow support tools. These collaborations are essential to ensuring the technology creates measurable impact in both patient care and clinic operations.

Hidalga emerged in 2024 during the New Venture Development course offered by U of A's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Upshaw, alongside a couple other students who are no longer a part of the company, formed Hidalga to tackle challenges in oncology care.

The two-semester sequence is available to graduate students seeking certification in entrepreneurship. The courses are led by the OEI, a division of the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

The New Venture Development course helps students develop the knowledge and skills to bring new innovations to society. Some teams launch their businesses directly from the class, while others apply the tools learned to work for startups, take greater roles in established companies or create nonprofits.

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a division of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.