From Lab to Life: Five Science-Driven Startups Redefining Innovation from Brno

During the conference, JIC highlighted how research-driven entrepreneurship can thrive when backed by strong support. Building on this approach, the agency seeks to establish a new fund JIC Ventures, a unique investment vehicle in the CEE region combining venture capital from successful founders, universities and the public sphere.

“Our goal is to support the transfer of know-how from universities and labs into business With its mix of research excellence and entrepreneurial energy, Brno has everything needed to turn deep-tech innovation into global success,” says Radim Kocourek, managing director of JIC Ventures.

Five Startups, One Innovation Ecosystem

Presented at the Velvet Innovation Conference 2025, these five Brno-based startups showcase how cutting-edge research turns into solutions for global market:

Emerging from biotechnology research at Masaryk University, ACTOSens is developing a rapid, at-home diagnostic kit, redefining how sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed. Built on nearly a decade of biosensor research, the team is creating an innovative electrochemical platform that enables fast and reliable urine-based testing outside the laboratory. Its compact pocket analyzer brings laboratory accuracy to everyday life, empowering people to test privately, easily, and with confidence. The startup also aims to expand its technology to other infections and make reliable diagnostics more accessible worldwide.

Citymind transforms academic research in AI and data science into smart tools for public institutions. Its intelligent AI operating system helps universities, schools, and municipalities optimize how their spaces are used by combining real-time data with predictive analytics. From energy management, study programs optimization and administrative tasks on university campuses to proactive 24/7 AI mentors for students, the AI Campus project is redefining how data supports decision-making in education and civic life. Built on the proven AI engine behind Citymind’s public-sector platform, AI Campus is also launching its first pilot with Mendel University in Brno.

Rooted in cybernetics and machine learning, Lightly has created a portable forensic intelligence device that transforms drug detection into actionable intelligence. While traditional field tests only detect substances and lab analyses take days, the portable detection device Catcher enables law enforcement to identify lethal drugs like fentanyl within minutes, while automatically cross-matching results, linking supply chains, and tracing every pill back to its origin. Each test enriches a global database of unique chemical fingerprints, allowing agencies to move from reactive detection to proactive disruption of trafficking networks.

With nearly a decade of expertise in visual AI, SmartVision introduces EpiQ, the very first visual AI-powered assistant that transforms complex manuals into intelligent, visual and interactive guidance. By combining augmented reality and computer vision, EpiQ bridges the gap between people and machines – simplifying how industries learn, operate, and maintain technology. Instead of replacing human work, it digitalizes and enhances it, making every task more intuitive, efficient, and safe.

Last but not least, a science-driven AI startup, Veriteus is building a multi-modal fraud-detection system that analyzes speech, video, behavioral signals and text to identify stress and deception in real time, helping companies to find the truth. Combining insights from linguistic psychology and machine learning, it helps financial and insurance companies detect manipulation before it causes harm. Designed also for regulatory compliance, the company recently secured early investment and launched pilot testing with Czech partners, moving closer to international deployment.

The Velvet Innovation Conference, organized annually by JIC, brings together hundreds of innovators, investors, and researchers who dare to imagine a better future - and work together to build it.. This year, the highlighted startups from the Startup Showcase best demonstrate how the Brno region nurtures deep-tech founders turning breakthrough research into technologies shaping global markets.