The Georgia Institute of Technology and Augusta University have launched a collaborative effort to boost the city’s medical device innovation ecosystem. 

The Augusta region is already a major hub for health and life sciences, boasting five hospitals and the Medical College of Georgia, the nation’s 13th oldest medical school and one of its largest.

Additionally, the advocacy nonprofit Georgia Life Sciences designated the region a BioReady Gold community. This ratings system recognizes its existing bioscience assets and its commitment to expanding infrastructure and commercialization, marking Augusta as a desired choice for biotech companies looking for suitable sites to expand.

Leading the work at Georgia Tech are the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) and Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). 

GaMEP is a program of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, Tech’s chief economic development arm. It brings a dedicated team with the unique skills required to help innovators clearly understand the requirements needed to bring medical devices to market. 

“When entrepreneurs gain insight into the regulatory and quality requirements early in development, they can make informed, strategic decisions that can significantly reduce both time and cost,” said Sarah Jo Tucker, industry manager for GaMEP’s medical device group. “We partner closely with innovators throughout the process and bring deep expertise in the regulatory requirements while they bring expertise in their technology. Together, we can move products efficiently and confidently from concept to commercialization.”

ADTC, part of Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization, is the state’s premier technology incubator and the oldest university-based incubator in the country. ATDC provides guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and founders to successfully launch and scale their technology companies.

Since its founding in 1980, ATDC’s startup graduates have attracted more than $6.2 billion in investment and generated over $14 billion in revenue in Georgia. Through the partnership with Augusta University, ATDC uses its expertise to serve entrepreneurs in the medical device field.

"Medical innovation across the state of Georgia is critical for our health tech industries to thrive,” said Chris Dickson, ATDC’s startup catalyst in the Augusta region. “We identify investment-ready medical technology startups and provide the support needed while they are scaling their businesses.”

A major hub for the life sciences, Augusta University is home to a wealth of researchers in the biomedical and related fields. This makes the institution ideally situated to help facilitate medical device commercialization.

Guido Verbeck understands this dynamic firsthand. A professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Augusta University, he is also an entrepreneur and medical device innovator.

“Academia is a fantastic platform for launching ideas, but there must be an understanding of how to bring a device to market,” said Verbeck. “Physicians and practitioners who are also academics are solving problems in real time, but they often lack the resources and support to get their ideas to production and commercialization.”

Lynsey Steinberg, director of innovation for Augusta University’s strategic partnerships and economic development team, summed up collaboration’s goal. 

“When we tap our depth of talent, innovation, and community collaboration, this region has what it takes to become a launchpad for medical device startups — a place where bold ideas find the purpose they need to succeed to solve real-world problems,” she said.

Microbial monitoring includes tracking bacteria and other microorganisms that affect water quality, food production, and environmental systems. It’s traditionally been slow, expensive, and often restricted to specialized laboratories. Water samples often need to be shipped off-site, where testing could take days or even weeks. During that time, contamination risks grow, and critical decisions about water safety, food production, or environmental health are delayed. 

In response, researchers in the Pinto Lab at Georgia Tech set out to reimagine the monitoring process. They began developing a portable technology that allows teams to see and understand what microorganisms are present in a sample almost immediately. That work has now moved beyond the lab and into the marketplace through a newly launched startup called Skopii. 

Research Driven by Real-World Needs 

Skopii was launched by the research group of Ameet J. Pinto, the Carlton S. Wilder Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Pinto also serves as the faculty director for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration at the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems. 

The idea for Skopii grew directly from challenges Pinto encountered in his environmental microbiology research. Traditional tools used to study microorganisms often cost tens of thousands of dollars and require specialized facilities, putting them out of reach for many professionals responsible for water safety and environmental monitoring. 

“We needed a way to quickly understand what was in a sample without investing days of lab work,” said Pinto, co-founder of Skopii. “The existing tools were too expensive and too stationary. We wanted something small, affordable, and smart enough to provide real-time insight wherever the sample is collected.” 

What Skopii Does 

Skopii helps water utilities, environmental teams, and industry partners quickly understand what is happening with microbiology in the environment and engineered systems without waiting for complex lab tests. The platform combines a compact imaging device with built-in artificial intelligence that analyzes samples on the spot. 

Instead of sending samples away for sequencing or advanced lab work, operators can place a sample directly into the device and receive fast, visual information about the microorganisms present. This early insight helps communities, utilities, and industry partners make informed decisions sooner, whether they are monitoring drinking water, wastewater systems, algae growth, or biological processes used in manufacturing. 

How the Technology Works 

Skopii’s technology pairs a small, modular, portable imaging device with built-in artificial intelligence. The imaging tool, called ARTiMiS, captures detailed pictures of microorganisms in a sample, much like a microscope that can be taken into the field. 

Those images are analyzed immediately by Skopii’s AI software, PhycoSight, which identifies and counts microorganisms without the need for lab testing or long processing times. 

Together, these tools, licensed through Georgia Tech’s Office of Technology Licensing, allow operators and researchers to see microorganisms, measure changes, and identify potential issues within minutes rather than days or weeks. The goal is not to replace advanced laboratory testing, but to provide fast, early information that helps guide decisions before more time-consuming analysis is needed. 

For example, a water utility operator could use Skopii’s technology to quickly assess phytoplankton in their drinking water sources to determine the presence and quantities of harmful algae, or engineers could monitor large-scale biological processes to evaluate the health and productivity of microalgal cultures for biofuel production or wastewater treatment instead of waiting for days for results. 

Advancing From Lab to Market 

Skopii’s development has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Water Research Foundation. This support allowed the team to refine the imaging system, train its artificial intelligence models, and test the platform with real-world partners. 

The work also gained national recognition in 2023 when two of Pinto’s students, Benjamin Gincley (co-founder and CEO of Skopii) and Farhan Khan (co-founder and CTO of Skopii), were named national champions in the Department of Energy’s Algae Prize competition, helping accelerate early development and visibility for the venture. They also received the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Higginbotham Entrepreneurship Award in 2022. 

Students played a key role in moving Skopii from research toward commercialization. Two team members advanced the startup through CREATE-X and VentureLab, applying customer discovery, market validation, and early business modeling to help prepare the technology for market use. 

Supported by Georgia Tech’s Commercialization Ecosystem 

Skopii’s progress reflects the strength of Georgia Tech’s commercialization ecosystem and the coordinated support researchers receive as they move innovations from the lab to the market. 

After refining the technology through research and field testing, the team worked with the Office of Technology Licensing, part of Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization, to protect intellectual property and outline a clear path forward. Licensing associate Ali Asgar Yunus supported the team through the patent process and the early commercialization steps. 

“Our role is to help researchers protect their work and create the right pathway for real-world use,” said Mary Albertson, director of the Office of Technology Licensing. “Skopii is a strong example of Georgia Tech innovation moving toward meaningful market impact.” 

Looking Ahead 

The team is already in early discussions with bioprocessing and algae reactor manufacturers interested in integrating Skopii’s technology into commercial equipment. They are also supported by the Georgia Research Alliance and Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing to advance their technology and its commercialization. They are seeking support from the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research program as they continue expanding the platform’s reach. 

For Pinto, long-term success is measured by adoption and sustained use. 

“When people are using Skopii’s technology in the field and relying on its insights as part of their daily work, that’s when we know we’ve made an impact,” he said. “Our goal is to help people make better decisions about water systems and biological processes in ways that were not possible at this cost or speed before.” 

Greptile, founded by three current and former Georgia Tech students, has quickly emerged as one of Silicon Valley’s most promising young technology companies. The startup, led by Daksh Gupta, CS 2023; Soohoon Choi, CS 2023, MTH 2023; and computer science major Vaishant Kameswaran, builds artificial intelligence tools that help engineering teams review, analyze, and improve their code. 

Since its launch in 2023, the company has gained traction with more than 2,000 customers, including Brex, Whoop, and Substack. In 2024, Greptile raised $25 million in Series A funding from Benchmark, bringing its total capital raised to $30 million and valuing the company at $180 million. That same year, Greptile was also accepted into the winter 2024 cohort of Y Combinator, the startup accelerator that helped launch Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe.   

For Gupta, the road to building Greptile began at Georgia Tech. The founders entered Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch program with an entirely different idea: an AI shopping assistant called Tabnam. But through the program’s customer-discovery process — an intensive cycle of testing, feedback, and rapid iteration — the team realized their technology had stronger potential when applied to software development. That pivot became the foundation for Greptile. 

“CREATE-X did two things without which Greptile would not exist,” Gupta said. “It introduced me to my co-founder, Soohoon, and it gave us the confidence to consider starting a company as a real career path.”  

The founders credit the program with shaping their entrepreneurial thinking, but they describe Y Combinator as the force that helped propel their company to the next stage. Gupta says Y Combinator’s value mirrors some of what they found at Georgia Tech. “Like Georgia Tech, a lot of Y Combinator’s value comes from three things: being surrounded by ambitious people, gaining credibility, and having smart, accomplished people believe in you before you fully believe in yourself,” he said. “That combination does wonders for your self-esteem, which in turn has enormous compounding effects.”  

The company’s recent fundraising experience reflects this momentum. Gupta describes their investor pitches as “fast and painless,” noting that they entered the process with compelling metrics and a refined story. Today, the team is supported by an impressive roster of founders-turned-investors — including partners from Initialized Capital and Benchmark — who have helped the company hire talent and make key strategic decisions.  

Looking back, Gupta says the lessons from CREATE-X continue to guide their approach to building technology and scaling a company. “Y Combinator helped us scale, but Georgia Tech is where it started,” he said.  

Applications for the next CREATE-X Startup Launch cohort are now open, with limited spots available. Early applicants receive priority consideration and feedback. 

A mobile fishing app created by Georgia Tech graduate Matthew Steele, CS 2025, has become an international success story, reaching the top of App Store charts in multiple countries before being acquired earlier this year. 

The app, Catchr, uses image recognition and gamified features to help anglers identify fish, estimate size, track catches, and compete on global leaderboards. The app climbed as high as No. 13 on the U.S. App Store sports charts and reached No. 1 in France and Croatia, with nearly 200,000 downloads in more than 170 countries. 

“The idea was to make fishing feel like a real-life version of Pokémon, something fun, soxacial, and competitive,” said Steele. “We launched with just a few basic features, and it grew far faster than I expected.” 

Before developing Catchr, Steele had already experimented with several products, including HairMatch, an AI-powered app that won $25,000 as a global finalist in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition, and UPic, Purrpulse, and Better Call Santa (now known as SantaCalls). Those experiences gave him insight into customer behavior, app deployment, and business operations — lessons he brought with him into Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch program. 

CREATE-X provided him with seed funding, mentorship, and a framework for validating ideas through real-world feedback. For Steele, those resources made it possible to move from experimentation to a scalable product.  

“CREATE-X was a time of innovation and exploration,” he said. “It gave me the structure and confidence to test assumptions, get real feedback, and pivot quickly — all critical steps in developing Catchr.”  

Those earlier products helped Steele learn how to test assumptions about customers, navigate App Store requirements, manage support requests, and handle the operational demands of running a small software business. 

“By the time I started Catchr, I knew what level of product quality was needed, how many hours support would take, and what the revenue expectations might be,” he said. “Even so, the speed at which Catchr captured users and grew in revenue was unbelievably fast compared to my expectations.” 

After Catchr’s explosive growth, Steele faced another challenge: deciding whether to sell the company. While many startup founders view acquisition as a goal, Steele said selling Catchr was one of the hardest decisions he has made. “Monetizing something you built is appealing, but selling is different,” he said. “Your creation becomes someone else’s job. You spend so much time with it that it becomes an extension of yourself.” 

Steele said he spoke with multiple interested buyers, asking each about their long-term plans for the app before moving forward. “I wanted to make sure the buyer’s vision would improve the product and be positive for users,” he said. “I wouldn’t have sold if I didn’t trust them.” 

He ultimately found a buyer who committed to expanding Catchr’s capabilities and investing in its continued growth. “I don’t think I’d change anything about the decision,” Steele said. “Catchr is in capable hands, and I can return to what I enjoy most, which is building things I believe will be part of a better future for consumers.” 

With the sale complete, Steele says he is returning to new ideas and the early-stage development process he prefers. 

“If there’s one thing I’d tell other Georgia Tech students,” he said, “it’s that you’re already in one of the best places in the world to build something meaningful. Don’t wait until you feel ready. Just start.” 

Apply to Startup Launch by March 17. Limited spots available.  

University research drives U.S. innovation, and Georgia Institute of Technology is leading the way.  

The latest Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey from the National Science Foundation (NSF) places Georgia Tech as No. 2 nationally for federally sponsored research expenditures in 2024. This is Georgia Tech’s highest-ever ranking from the NSF HERD survey and a 70% increase over the Institute's 2019 numbers.  

In total expenditures from all externally funded dollars (including the federal government, foundations, industry, etc.), Georgia Tech is ranked at No. 6.  

Tech remains ranked No. 1 among universities without a medical school — a major accomplishment, as medical schools account for a quarter of all research expenditures nationally. 

“Georgia Tech’s rise to No. 2 in federally sponsored research expenditures reflects the extraordinary talent and commitment of our faculty, staff, students, and partners. This achievement demonstrates the confidence federal agencies have in our ability to deliver transformative research that addresses the nation’s most critical challenges,” said Tim Lieuwen, executive vice president for Research.   

Overall, the state of Georgia maintained its No. 8 position in university research and development, and for the first time, the state topped the $4 billion mark in research expenditures. Georgia Tech provides $1.5 billion, the largest state university contribution. In the last five years, federal funding for higher education research in the state of Georgia has grown an astounding 46% — 10 points higher than the U.S. rate. 

Lieuwen said, “Georgia Tech is proud to lead the state in research contributions, helping Georgia surpass the $4 billion mark for the first time. Our work doesn’t just advance knowledge — it saves lives, creates jobs, and strengthens national security. This growth reflects our commitment to drive innovation that benefits Georgia, our country, and the world.” 

About the NSF HERD Survey 

The NSF HERD Survey is an annual census of U.S. colleges and universities that expended at least $150,000 in separately accounted for research and development (R&D) in the fiscal year. The survey collects information on R&D expenditures by field of research and source of funds and also gathers information on types of research, expenses, and headcounts of R&D personnel. 

About Georgia Tech's Research Enterprise 

The research enterprise at Georgia Tech is led by the Executive Vice President for Research, Tim Lieuwen, and directs a portfolio of research, development, and sponsored activities. This includes leadership of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), the Enterprise Innovation Institute, 11 interdisciplinary research institutes (IRIs), Office of Commercialization, Office of Corporate Engagement, plus research centers, and related research administrative support units. Georgia Tech routinely ranks among the top U.S. universities in volume of research conducted.