Fall 2021
The power of innovation was on full display at the Fall ‘21 CoMotion DubPitch event. Ten teams gathered online to pitch their companies to an audience of investors and venture capitalists. All the teams are based on UW research or are from CoMotion Labs, our multi-industry incubator. The event featured startups from a broad range of sectors including life sciences, medical devices, engineering, IT and software, and cleantech.
- Dong Si
DeepTracer is transforming drug discovery by making it possible to quickly and automatically create three-dimensional models of proteins, which are essential for understanding drug interactions. These models are produced from cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps at increasing rates, which DeepTracer than enhances with our advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. Our technology frees experts’ time to focus on drug discovery rather than data assembly. Since its launch as a web service in summer 2020, DeepTracer has produced thousands of models for hundreds of researchers.
Website
https://deeptracer.uw.edu/
- Larry Pierce
We have invented a new technology for nuclear medical imaging. Our new scanning methodology has over 3,000 times the sensitivity above any currently available clinical scanners and has demonstrated image quality that is hundreds of times better than the current state-of-the-art commercial scanners. We are going to commercialize our technology first as a brain scanner, then follow with a cardiac model. We will license our UW-patent-pending technology to an existing manufacturer.
- Bob Snyder, Managing Director
Proteios Technology is developing novel solutions for the discovery of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) and their efficient manufacturing. Our goal is to apply our platform technology to help lower the cost of advanced healthcare therapies in order to reach a larger patient population.
Website
https://www.proteios.com
- John E. DeFeo, CEO / CMO
Rapid Nano Sensors, Inc is an early-stage company that has developed a new diagnostic platform utilizing immuno-resistive technology. This diagnostic platform analyzes human specimens resulting in identifying the presence of disease. The company’s first diagnostic product is for COVID-19 that is optimized to be completed in <15-minutes. The technology was developed over the past ten years in a collaboration between two University of Washington professors. Dr. Jae Chung, Ph.D. UW Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Clem Furlong, Ph.D. UW Medicine.
- David Sparkman-Yager, CTO
Wayfinder Biosciences is using their RNA technologies to accelerate biomanufacturing of valuable molecules. Their technology leverages the power of computational design to turn difficult to measure molecules into easy to detect light.
Website
https://wayfinderbio.com/
- Michael Croix
SunFly is developing UV-sensitive, color-changing cosmetic inks that help people apply and reapply the correct amount of sunscreen at the right time.
Website
https://sunflybrands.com
- James Penna, COO
Wave Motion Launch Corporation is increasing access to space by decreasing the cost and lead time to get satellites and supplies into orbit. Our patented innovation, the jet-gun, is a ground-based launcher that can send payloads to orbital speeds in any weather conditions for launch costs as low as $100 per pound, a substantial cost saving over the current $2200 per pound charged by SpaceX. In addition, the jet-gun launcher is more compact than those employed by other concepts such as the Ram Accelerator or Spinlaunch.
Website
www.wavemotionlaunch.space
- Prithvi Ranjan
VerbalEyes is using machine learning to automate the creation of audio descriptions. Audio descriptions enable blind and visually-impaired individuals to enjoy online visual content, like videos. We believe that audio descriptions will one day become as ubiquitous on the Internet as closed captions. Currently, we’re running a paid pilot program with several large universities.
- Devin Ajimine
LifeAt is a customizable virtual workspace of beautiful video content and productivity widgets helping over three million students and working professionals focus. Our worldwide web app is our bet for the future of remote work, GenZ, and the creator economy.
Website
lifeat.io
- Scott Brennan, COO
CTFusion is developing the most commercially viable approach to fusion energy with our patented DynomakTM technology which simplifies the production of fusion energy by unifying magnetic confinement, heating, and plasma current drive. This enables us to be 100 times more energy efficient than leading tokamak designs and more affordable to a wider range of power outputs.
Website
www.ctfusion.net