Launched in 2021, BioTools Innovator (BTI) is a non-profit accelerator and competition for life science tools and diagnostic companies. Their aim is to support innovators to move breakthroughs from discovery to the market.
This year, BTI hosted a cohort of 30 early-stage startups, ranging from diagnostics and biomarker discovery to drug discovery, development, and delivery, and more, in a four-month-long-program. During this time, the participants receive personalized mentorship from senior industry leaders, access to funding opportunities, and meaningful engagement with peers and expert advisors. In two weeks, four selected finalists are slated to take the stage at the Capstone Event pitch finals event on October 14, 2026, where the audience will vote in real-time to select the BTI 2026 Winner.
Meet the Final Four Life Science Companies
Caravel
This biotechnology startup specializes in protein engineering and synthetic biology, aiming to create custom proteins. They utilize technologies such as microfluidics, cell-free protein synthesis, and bacterial spore-display to create industrial-strength proteins for applications including critical minerals processing, carbon capture, and more.
eGlint
This medical technology company develops a real-time proteomics biosensor platform that uses modified synthetic aptamers—short single- or double-stranded chains of nucleotides that can bind to target molecules—to measure combinations of virtually any protein biomarkers from blood. Compared to existing quantitative polymerase chain reaction instruments, eGlint’s technology is designed to be faster, easier, more cost-effective, and highly multiplexed.
Pando Bioscience
This AI-driven synthetic biology company aims to revolutionize enzyme engineering for pharmaceutical manufacturing and life science tools industry. By pairing generative AI protein design with ultra-high-throughput wet lab screening, Pando’s products are poised to engineer, optimize, and discover enzymes for various functions, including biocatalytic and diagnostic enzymes.
QuantumCyte
This medical technology company uses AI to improve the success rate of digital pathology. QuantumCyte designed an extraction platform to reduce diagnostic uncertainty in formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. FFPE biopsy samples represent a vast majority of clinical and research specimens used in oncology diagnostics. The platform automates the precise isolation of specific cells and improves the signal-to-noise ratio for subsequent molecular testing.
"Every one of this year's finalists is solving a problem that's been quietly slowing science down," said Ayelet Marom, the managing director of BTI, in a press release. "They're shortening the distance between a question in the lab and an answer that helps a patient. That's exactly the kind of progress BioTools Innovator exists to accelerate, and we are proud to support them on their journey to improve human health.”
