Announcing Lumi™: An AI Assistant That Revolutionizes Scientific R&D

Bristol, UK – Today, Lumi™ launches the first autonomous lab assistant to apply AI to the monumental data documentation burden that burdens science, affecting everything from regulatory compliance to drug costs to development timelines to the introduction of avoidable errors. The news comes after four years of development that amassed one of the largest datasets and most advanced AI models ever created for visual monitoring of scientific operations. Now generally available, Lumi is already used by global biotech companies and world-renowned contract research organizations (CROs) and has a growing customer pipeline that includes the world’s top research and development companies.

Despite advanced innovation in many areas of science, a scientist records what is happening in a lab in a manual and old-fashioned way. The majority of scientists use pen and paper or type notes into a digital journal, called an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELNs). Self-driving labs that completely automate processes are being tested, but are prohibitively expensive for most institutions and not practical for many types of important science. The result is that millions of scientists spend hours each day manually monitoring and capturing information, taking away from innovation and introducing errors while adding considerable costs and time to the process.

“We believe that the foundation of the scientific method—observation—is on the brink of a radical transformation, empowered by the full potential of AI and data,” said Silas Adekunle, CEO and cofounder of Lumi™. “Our vision is ambitious: to create a world where we move beyond traditional methods of data capture and analysis; a world where AI empowers humans to innovate and take science to new heights by providing deeper insights and greater consistency.”

How it works

Opting to empower the scientist and automate tedious, time consuming and error-prone tasks, Lumi combines AI and computer vision with modular cameras and sensors to revolutionize lab data capture, monitoring, and analysis. It ingests data via previously installed webcams, or its own sensors and cameras systems that can be mounted on headsets or small tripods. Behind the camera, AI documents multimodal actions spanning the tiniest changes in color to the movement of scientists across the lab. The result is a first of its kind trove of data with unparalleled breadth, depth and precision and which signifies a step change in the most fundamental aspect of research and development – observation.

“The pandemic has really shown that speed to market is absolutely essential for good patient outcomes and technology like Lumi really helps us drive that speed, it helps us create medicines more quickly and it gets a deeper understanding of what we’re doing all in the same package,” said Dr. Sam Whitmarsh, Director of Digital Transformation at CatSci.

Lumi is simple to set up, and integrates with existing AI quality control frameworks, ELNs, Laboratory Information Management Systems and data pipelines. It also allows AI teams to send their own data to Lumi’s models for enhanced processing and analysis. Lumi offers different tiers of service, depending on the needs of an institution and the tasks involved:

  • Visual Lab automates the process of data capture, eliminating the inaccuracies and inefficiencies of manual recording to accelerate discovery and ensure compliance by providing comprehensive visibility into laboratory processes. With automated workflow monitoring, Visual Lab logs every action, enabling efficient SOP development and seamless knowledge transfer.
  • LabOps is a software-based command center for lab management that not only centralizes lab operations but enables continuous monitoring and real-time adjustments. By integrating video logs with critical data points, LabOps ensures that labs can operate with a level of precision and efficiency that was previously unattainable.

Behind Lumi is a seasoned team of proven entrepreneurs, deep-tech experts and notable industry partners, customers and financial backers. Cofounders Silas Adekunle and Chris Beck (CTO) met at the Bristol Robotics Lab, with Beck pursuing a PhD in Robotics. Together they founded a successful robotics and augmented reality business built on cloud infrastructure that generated millions in revenue and the distribution of products across multiple continents with partners such as Apple. The broader team includes PhDs in data science and computer vision as well as experts in software development.

To partner with Lumi, visit Lumi.systems

About Lumi

Lumi believes that the foundations of science are on the verge of a radical change, driven by the power of artificial intelligence and data integration. Our vision is bold: a world where labs run with pinpoint accuracy, free from the errors of manual data capture, and where AI elevates science to new levels through deeper insights and greater consistency.

Global biotech companies and world-renowned contract research organizations use Lumi to revolutionize data capture, analysis, and lab operations in real time.

Lumi is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, and was founded in 2020 by Silas Adekunle and Chris Beck. Its team spans over twenty interdisciplinary technical experts in artificial intelligence, computer vision and biotech development. It is backed by a number of marquee investors including SFC Capital, SOSV and Entrepreneur First.

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