Team Spotlight: OmniVis

OmniVis technology uses a revolutionary sensing technique to quantify and analyze biomolecular solutions directly at the source. Developed by co-founders Katherine Clayton, Tamara Kinzer-Ursem, Jacqueline Linnes, and Steve Wereley at Purdue University, their easy-to-use hardware device and consumable test kit attaches to a smartphone and reduces the detection process to 30 minutes, accurately and affordably.

Impact of I-Corps

The I-Corps program helped OmniVis define the ecosystem of their market segment, identify customer need, and focus on a first minimal viable product. Having gone through the program, Drs. Clayton and Kinzer-Ursem have honed their skills in identifying knowledge gaps and acquiring key insights through the Customer Discovery Process.

University Affiliation: Purdue University

From left to right: Dr. Katherine Clayton, PhD, Dr. Tamara Kinzer-Ursem, PhD, Dr. Steve Wereley, PhD, and Dr. Jackie Linnes, PhD

Oct 2016 Participated in Purdue I-Corps Site Biomedship Graduate Course
Feb 2017 2nd Place at Burton Morgan Business Plan Competition
Mar 2017 Challenge Round at Rice Business Plan Competition
Jun 2017 1st place in Vodaphone Wireless Innovation Project
Oct 2017 2nd runner up in Cisco Innovation Challenge
Mar 2018 NSF I-Corps Bay Area Cohort
Apr 2018 Chosen as ‘Changing Idea Finalist’ in Fast Company
Apr 2018 Finalist for the Project Entrepreneur Competition aimed at women founders through Rent the Runway and UBS
Jun 2018 Awarded NSF SBIR Phase I ($225,000)
Jun 2018 Accepted into NYC Project Entrepreneur Accelerator Program while incubating at Samsung NEXT NY
Sept 2018 Recipient of Humanitarian Grand Challenge awarded by Grand Challenges Canada, UK DFID, and USAID