Startup from Porto shortlisted among 150 best in the world by CB Insights ranking

iLoF - Intelligent Lab on Fiber startup from Porto, established at INESC TEC and incubated at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto - FMUP, ranks among the 150 most promising startups at world level in the field of digital health, according to the CB Insights ranking, an American tech market intelligence platform that provides data on venture capital, startups, patents and partnerships. 

The startup, which was founded by Joana Paiva, together with Paula Sampaio (i3S/FCUP), Mehak Mumtaz (University of Oxford, UK) and Luís Valente (INESC TEC), won an accelerator programme, in 2019, by EIT Health, the world leading Consortium in the health area. The startup from Porto received two million euros to fight Alzheimer, through AI and photonics.

"iLoF, which is being accelerated at Oxford Foundry, of the University of Oxford, was selected out of 8 thousand startups and it is the only one with Portuguese DNA in this shortlist, where American companies are abundant (77%)", as highlighted by the University of Porto.

"It is an honour to be among the 150 most disruptive and innovative companies at world level in the field of digital health. The CB Insights list is normally acknowledged as one of the most reliable source regarding tendencies and companies, and this is a step forward in our mission to advance personalised medicine, helping industry thrive, choose and democratise personalised treatment for patients all over the world", states Luís Valente, iLoF's CEO, cited by the UP.

iLoF researchers created an innovative portable finger print system that can house "digital fingerprints" of several neurodegenerative disorder, which enables rapid testing and involves minimally invasive procedures. It can be used to test brain tumour or Parkinson's, only using microliters of blood.

This startup already features other important awards, namely the Altice International Innovation Awards and the Born from Knowledge Award, promoted by the National Agency for Innovation. The company also scored first place in Latvia, in the Digital Freedom Festival, organised by the Dutch accelerator Rockstart and the first place in the scope of the EIT Jumpstarter, of the European Institute of Technology.

It should be highlighted that Porto won the World Excellence Award for Best Startup-Friendly City of Europe. The award was granted on 19 February 2019, during the World Excellence Awards, in Istanbul, known as an investment hub in the Middle East.