Ideas Made to Matter
Where are they now: Catch up with 9 of MIT’s most innovative startups
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FDA approvals, acquisitions, a United Nations nod, and a Time100 honor. Here’s what some innovative members of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship community were up to this year.
The wastewater analytics company co-founded by Mariana Matus, PhD ’18, was named one of Time’s most influential companies of 2022. Biobot Analytics started in 2017 with the idea of sampling, testing, and analyzing municipal wastewater. This May, Biobot Analytics joined the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s National Wastewater Surveillance System, which tracks COVID-19 in wastewater. In September the company announced it was relaunching a branch of its platform that helps municipalities measure opioids in wastewater.
Congo Clothing donates 10% of its profits to upskill survivors of rape and other violent sexual abuse through a partnership with the Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Co-founded by Milain Fayulu, SM ’22, Congo Clothing was mentioned in a United Nations white paper on conflict-related sexual violence for “respectfully using its platform to speak about CRSV in a matter that reduces stigma and promotes empowerment initiatives and livelihood support for survivors.”
Iterative Scopes uses machine learning and computer detection tools to help doctors spot signs of colon cancer. Founded by Jonathan Ng, SB ’12, this year the company closed a $150 million Series B funding round and received FDA clearance for its AI-assisted SKOUT tool for detecting colorectal polyps.
Formerly Cambridge Crops, Mori is a food technology company that uses a water-based coating made from silk protein to preserve food longer. Adam Behrens, PhD ’15, founded the company in 2018 with a mission to cut food waste. In 2022 Mori closed a $50 million Series B funding round. It’s also a portfolio company at The Engine, a tough tech venture firm founded by MIT.
Andrea Ippolito, SM ’12, started SimpliFed in 2019 to democratize access to baby feeding services and provide telehealth support for people feeding their babies. Ippolito raised $6 million in a 2022 seed round. In an interview she said she was juggling her own pumping logistics for her second daughter while working on the seed round.
Solstice connects communities with developers who build solar gardens and onboards and manages solar energy customers through a digital platform. Sandhya Murali, MBA ’15, and Steph Speirs, MBA ’17, are among the founders. Solstice was acquired by MyPower Corp. in October 2022.
Spike
The analytics startup was acquired by Bain in February. Founded by Juan Pablo Garcia, SM ’17, Spike offers machine learning solutions to companies in a variety of industries. The acquisition of Spike, which is based in Chile, will contribute to Bain’s South American innovation efforts, the firm said in a press release.
Khalid David, MBA ’19, grew up in a construction family, so he was familiar with the struggles of getting everyone involved on a project onto the same page. To address this problem, in 2014 David created Tracflo, a real-time cost tracking platform. As of the end of 2022, Tracflo has processed more than $17 million in change orders across 318 projects.
VideaHealth’s AI technology is designed to help dentists more accurately detect and diagnose cavities. The company, founded by Florian Hillen, SM ’18, raised $20 million in Series A funding in 2022; in May, VideaHealth’s cavity detection algorithm received FDA clearance.
For more on these alumni and startups, read the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship 2022 annual report.
