—Tailored mentorship to help startups compete for $300,000 in funding—
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#accelerator–BioTools Innovator (BTI), the first accelerator focused exclusively on life science tools and diagnostics startups, has selected 30 companies for its 2026 Accelerator program. These startups will participate in a four-month program offering in-depth, personalized mentorship from senior industry leaders, access to funding opportunities, and meaningful engagement with peers and expert advisors. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of nearly 550 applicants, the selected companies represent the top 5% of applicants. At the end of the program, participants will compete for $300,000 in funding.
“The 2026 cohort represents some of the most promising innovation happening in life science tools and diagnostics today,” said Kathryn Zavala, managing director of BioTools Innovator. “These 30 companies are tackling the fundamental challenges that underpin discovery, diagnosis, and treatment. Over the next four months, they’ll gain the mentorship, connections, and resources needed to help accelerate their path to market and, ultimately, deliver a positive impact to human health.”
The 30 companies awarded a spot in the BioTools Innovator 2026 Accelerator are:
Analytical Technologies
- Guardion* – Burlington, Mass.
- HelioWave Technologies – College Station, Texas
- Millennial Scientific – Stony Brook, N.Y.
- Motley Bio – San Carlos, Calif.
- Signal Bioscience – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Bioprocessing & Biomanufacturing Tools
- Bioscibex* – Monthey, Switzerland
- InSpek* – Palaiseau, France
- Lift Biolabs* – Houston
- Multus Biotechnology – London
- Phaser Solutions – Davis, Calif.
- Phlotonics* – Rochester, N.Y.
Diagnostics & Biomarker Discovery
- eGlint Proteomics* – San Diego
- EXIT071 – Leiden, Netherlands
- MiRNDa – Tokyo
- ProSeek Bio – Brisbane, Australia
- Stata DX – Boston
Drug Discovery, Development & Delivery
- Caravel Bio, Inc. – Portland, Ore.
- DoriNano, Inc. – Cambridge, Mass.
- ENANTIOS* – Zurich
- Foli Bio – Long Island City, N.Y.
- Precision Quantomics* – Spokane, Wash.
- Telos Biotech – Dallas
Nucleic Acid Synthesis & Purification
- DINYA* – Oakland, Calif.
- GemBio – Torrance, Calif.
- Oligo Foundry – San Diego
- Pando Bioscience – Watertown, Mass.
Sample Preparation & Preservation
- BioWraptor* – New York
- Cache DNA – San Carlos, Calif.
- Evergreen Biosciences – Manhasset, N.Y.
- QuantumCyte – Fremont, Calif.
*VANGUARD Cohort Company
Ten companies from this year’s cohort have also been selected to participate in the VANGUARD Accelerator track. VANGUARD is a joint initiative between BTI and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to support startups in deploying innovative medical countermeasures that enhance the U.S.’ readiness for public health emergencies.** In addition to BTI programming and mentorship, these companies will receive additional support to develop a strategy around how their innovation can support BARDA’s health security mission. The companies will gain enhanced visibility among BARDA stakeholders and receive guidance and support from BARDA subject matter experts.
The BTI 2026 cohort will attend the program’s kickoff at the Innovator Summit, held June 2-4 in San Francisco. There, they’ll join the MedTech Innovator (MTI) U.S. and Asia Pacific cohorts in a closed-door event that brings together the program’s corporate partners, alumni, and other industry leaders.
As part of a rigorous evaluation process, BTI and its strategic partners invited 85 companies to pitch at this year’s BioTools Innovator Road Tour events in Boston, San Diego, as well as a virtual pitch event. The final cohort was selected by the BTI selection committee, which included the senior leadership teams of the program’s industry partners: Research Corporation Technologies (RCT), BARDA, BroadOak Capital Partners, Nissan Chemical America Corporation, Ecolab, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, with input from more than 240 industry judges from leading life science firms.
The mentors, judges, and advisors in this year’s BioTools Innovator’s expert ecosystem include representatives from AbbVie, Agilent, BARDA, Catalent Pharma Solutions, Danaher, Draper, Eppendorf, GenScript, Genentech, Illumina, Lonza Biopharma, M Ventures, New England Biolabs, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Quanterix, Qiagen, Sartorius, and Standard BioTools, among others. Funding for BioTools Innovator is provided by the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation of RCT. Additional support is provided by BroadOak Capital Partners, Nissan Chemical America Corporation, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
**This project has been supported in whole or in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under agreement number 75A50124C00034.
About BioTools Innovator
Based in Los Angeles, BioTools Innovator was established to advance cutting-edge research and improve human health by accelerating the growth of a broad spectrum of life science tools and diagnostics. BioTools Innovator matches industry leaders with innovative early-stage and emerging growth biotechnology-focused companies for mentorship and support.
BioTools Innovator is powered by MedTech Innovator (MTI), the world’s largest accelerator of medical technology companies and the premier nonprofit startup accelerator in the medical technology industry. To date, MTI alumni have collectively brought over 400 products to market and raised $12 billion in follow-on funding. For more information about BioTools Innovator, visit the website and follow the organization on LinkedIn.
Contacts
Media Contact
Samantha Black
MedTech Innovator
sam.black@medtechinnovator.org
