Alexapath tapped as one of the world’s most promising science startups

Dumbo’s Alexapath, the “Skype of microscopes,” was chosen to sit among rarefied company yesterday. It was just one of four companies in the U.S. to attend the Falling Walls Venture forum in Berlin, which, since 2013, aims to identify promising science startups from around the world.

Twenty-five companies had the opportunity to present a five-minute pitch to a jury of 20 venture capitalists, scientists and academics. The finalists were nominated by venture capitalists and academic institutions around the globe. Alexapath was nominated by NYU, where the company is a member of the engineering school’s Digital Future Lab incubator. Yesterday, founder Lou Auguste was introduced by Ryan Hartman, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NYU Tandon, who has worked closely with the company.

The winner of the conference was Vaxxilon, a Swiss company developing carbohydrate-based vaccines, or in Auguste’s words, “synthesizing sugars to stop killer bacteria.” As the prize for its winning pitch, Vaxxilon had the chance to present again earlier today before the 700-person audience for the general Falling Walls conference, which is dedicated to breakthrough scientific research.

Although Alexapath did not come away with the ultimate spoils, Auguste told Technical.ly via email that the experience was well worth it nonetheless. Among the connections he made were with a remote radiology company in India and a venture capitalist who offered a connection to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he said.

“[That] would be a great opportunity for deploying our devices where they can make the greatest impact,” he wrote.