Darnell Adler Wins Global Innovation Competition

Darnell Adler, USC Economics class of 2026, has just won a global innovation competition (and a People’s Choice Award)!

The “Red Bull Basement” is a global “innovation incubator”. Darnell won the national competition a week before graduating and went on as the US representative to the global competition held in San Fransisco yesterday, where he took home the prize in the World Final.

Darnell’s innovation is Lifeline AI: a discreet safety system that allows anyone in an emergency situation to trigger a silent SOS without the need to unlock their phone, type or speak. Describing the challenge he wants to address, Adler says, ‘The key problem is that existing safety solutions assume that you’re in a position to use them, whereas Lifeline assumes that you’re not.” Below is a recent interview with Darnell.

How did the idea for Lifeline AI begin?

When you’re a guy, you don’t always think about your own personal safety as much as other people might. What really sparked the idea was that something bad happened to someone close to me. That made me realize this wasn’t just something that could happen to someone I love. It’s a global issue.

I started running surveys and talking to people. In one survey with 137 people, 99% said they wished they had a safety tool like Lifeline AI. That helped me understand how many people could use something like this and how important it is to build tools that can help make the world safer for the people we love.

What does Lifeline AI do, and how does it work?

Lifeline AI is everything in a police report delivered in seconds, without ever taking your phone out of your pocket.

It allows someone to trigger a silent SOS without anyone around them knowing. With one gesture, nobody hears it and nobody sees it, but the important information from that situation can be sent to the people who need it — friends, trusted contacts or even emergency responders.

How did the idea evolve as you developed it?

At first, I had a product that was completely different. I wasn’t necessarily thinking enough about what consumers would actually want or use.

So I went to potential users and asked them directly: “This is what I have. Would this work?” And they told me straight up, “No, this is not what we need. This is not what we would use.”

Taking that feedback completely changed the product. It pushed me to build a tool designed around the moments when people need help most.

How did you get involved with Red Bull Basement?

I had no clue what Red Bull Basement was.

I played club lacrosse at USC, and our team manager was a Red Bull student marketeer. She told me I should apply. I’m pretty sure it was one of the last days to apply, and I think I got my application in with about 15 minutes left.

Thank God I did.

What was it like to hear Lifeline AI named the global winner?

I still don’t think I have the words for it.

There was a lot going through my head. I never thought I’d be in that position. Being in my hometown of San Francisco, surrounded by the other finalists, who were all congratulating me, and hearing my family a couple of aisles away; it was surreal.

Just hearing everyone so excited, and knowing that Lifeline AI can actually help build a safer world, was an incredible feeling.

You graduated from USC Dornsife just before the World Final. What was that stretch like?

During finals week, I actually had to push some of my finals because I had the Red Bull Basement national final. I was trying to prepare my product, understand my pitch and study for five different courses at the same time.

Once I walked across the stage at graduation, I felt like a weight had been lifted. Then I went fully into build mode.

Being able to walk at graduation and then walk across the World Final stage — and receive that recognition — is hard to put into words.

Why did you choose economics at USC Dornsife?

Economics is such a broad and powerful major. It gives you the ability to go into so many different areas, including real estate, quantitative work and entrepreneurship.

I also had some of the best professors in economics. They helped me understand myself and how to think about the things I wanted to build. All credit to Dornsife.

How did your USC Dornsife education help prepare you for this moment?

Everything I learned in class helped me think about building products.

In statistics, for example, I worked on projects using regressions and thinking through real estate markets. I was always taking things I learned in class and bringing them into products I was passionate about.

USC Dornsife also gives you the ability to figure yourself out. It’s broad enough that you can explore different avenues, but it also pushes you to make the most of your time. At USC, every person you meet can open another door.

What’s next for Lifeline AI?

Because Lifeline AI deals with people’s lives, trust is the most important thing. We have to take things one step at a time and make sure we get it right.

The goal is for Lifeline AI to become the global standard for calling for help — until no one has to choose between their safety and their silence.

Read even more about Darnell’s World Final win here.