Spinout News
UCLB spinout Odin Vision acquired by Olympus
7 June 2023
Odin Vision, a UCLB spinout company that develops AI-driven endoscopy technology to help better detect cancer, has been acquired by Olympus Corporation (Olympus) for up to £66 million.
Launched in 2019 with the support of UCLB, Odin is a world-leading pioneer of cloud AI-enabled applications for endoscopy, that enables clinicians to detect some early stage colorectal and oesophageal cancers.
The acquisition deal will see Olympus acquire Odin’s entire portfolio of award-winning AI solutions, enabling Odin’s life-saving tools to reach millions of new patients around the world.
Commenting Peter Mountney, CEO of Odin Vision and Honorary Associate Professor at UCL Computer Science, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team. We started with a university research project at UCL and transformed it into a commercial healthcare technology that will help millions around the world in the fight against cancer.”
The spinout, which also received early stage funding from UCL Technology Fund in 2019, was founded upon the research of Patrick Brandão, Professor Danail Stoyanov and Professor Laurence Lovat, based at the UCL Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences. Their pioneering work developed polyp detection systems which assisted doctors in the detection of colorectal cancer.
Dr Anne Lane, CEO of UCLB, said: “We are incredibly proud to see Odin Vision’s successful exit to Olympus. UCLB has worked with Odin over a number of years to create a real-world impact from the research, through IP support and access to funding, as well as hands-on advice and guidance from the UCLB team. Odin Vision’s success is testament to the hard work that goes on within our commercialisation team supporting spinouts to realise their full potential as they work to tackle society’s biggest challenges.”
Further information:
Read the full news update from UCL.