Welcoming CASI Technologies to the Genesis Portfolio
On behalf of Genesis, I am excited to announce our investment in CASI Technologies. CASI Technologies is building a microscope slide storage solution that integrates highly accessible and modular physical storage with automated digitization and tracking.
The Problem
Microscope slide tracking requires physical storage of glass slides and electronic cataloguing of slide contents and storage location. The most prevalent organization system of physical slides is plastic boxes or drawers containing up to 100 slides. Accessing a microscope slide requires knowledge of the slide’s exact location and careful removal from containers filled with glass slides. Researchers and pathologists struggle to efficiently store and organize tens of thousands of slides, and loss or breakage of slides can have severe consequences because slides are difficult and expensive to recreate. Issues with this method of slide storage are compounded by the absence of integrated electronic systems that facilitate cataloguing of slides. Researchers currently use spreadsheets, databases, or handwritten notes to track the content and location of slides. Electronic records that are not updated when slides are added, moved, or removed cause discrepancies between the actual slide locations and digital catalogues. Researchers at universities and pathologists at hospitals who use thousands of slides do not have readily available options for systems that automate and integrate physical and electronic slide storage.
CASI’s product uses a combination of hardware and software to improve microscope data management and slide retrieval. Their system consists of two main components: a physical slide storage module and a software application that stores and organizes slide information in a database and controls the storage module.
The Founders
CASI Technologies started when the founder, Gan, first started thinking about building a device to store microscope slides more securely than traditional wooden or plastic boxes. Gan’s personal experience working with Dr. Elizabeth Bradbury at UT Austin confirmed the prevalence of problems with existing slide storage solutions. Gan recruited two friends, Bhargav and Avin, from his prior startup, Robotmastery LLC, to help him develop a product to store microscope slides. He later brought on Ryan and Gagan for their technical skill sets and Raphael for his legal experience.
Gan Liu (Aerospace Engineering ’22) — Gan is the CEO of CASI. His past startup experience includes running a summer robotics camp alongside Bhargav and Ryan through his company Robotmastery LLC.
Ryan Kim (Biochemistry ’22) — Ryan is the COO of CASI. He has previously worked on Robotmatery with Gan and Bhargav.
Bhargav Parthasarathy (Mechanical Engineering ’22) — Bhargav is the Head of Engineering and Design at CASI. His prior startup experience includes helping run summer robotics camps through Robotmastery.
Gagan Kaushik (Electrical and Computer Engineering ’22) — Gagan is the Head of Electronics for CASI. He has worked previously as a Software Engineering Intern at Cisco and is involved with the UT IEEE Computer Society on campus.
Avin deSilva (Computer Science ’22) — Avin is the Head of Software for CASI. He also currently works for another venture that is in Longhorn Startup Lab at UT.
Raphael Pasala (Neuroscience ’22) — Raphael is Head of Legal Operations for CASI. He worked previously as a Data Science Intern at Medical Departures Inc. and is a tutor at UT.
How Are They Doing?
The CASI Technologies team completed designs for their prototype and are currently building the physical storage module. They are also working on designing and implementing software for the user interface and server. CASI anticipates that they will have a working prototype within the next month and plans to begin preliminary testing of their prototype over the summer. They have received interest in their system from several UT Austin professors and researchers at other institutions across Texas, and they will be looking to improve their prototype and proceed to consumer production this year.
Why I Led This Deal by Mohit Gupta
The CASI Technologies team has been impressive from the start. Their impressive technical skillsets are complemented by their keen business sense and willingness to learn, and they are truly a pleasure to work with. I was hooked on their idea as soon as I saw the preliminary designs for their prototype, and I am incredibly excited by all of their progress since then. I am eager to see CASI’s system in the hands of researchers soon, and I have no doubts that this team can successively bring their product to market. The CASI team embodies the dedication and commitment that define Genesis portfolio founders, and I am honored to welcome them to the Genesis family.
