{"id":296,"date":"2024-04-14T08:39:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/?p=296"},"modified":"2024-05-23T16:25:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:25:33","slug":"unleashing-the-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/2024\/04\/14\/unleashing-the-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Unleashing the Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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UnBox Ventures<\/h5>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Unleashing Innovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Thanks to UnBox\u2019s problem-centric approach to creating companies, a Bar-Ilan business PhD and network-science researcher are helping American operating rooms use their resources more efficiently. Coming soon to a hospital near you. <\/h6>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Starting Something<\/h3>
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\u201cLots of aspiring entrepreneurs come to me with ideas,\u201d says Ariel Sella, founder and managing director of UnBox Ventures, Bar-Ilan\u2019s studio for venture creation. \u201cI tell them, \u2018Never mind ideas, come to me with a problem worth solving. Then we\u2019ve got something to talk about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to Sella\u2019s novel process for turning great research into companies\u2014including offering researchers and their co-founders majority holdings, intellectual-property waivers, pre-seed funding, and expert guidance\u2014UnBox, which is a now a partnership of Bar-Ilan and Mivtach Shamir Holdings, has helped solve many problems indeed. \u201cBy encouraging researchers to focus on problems first, then guiding them on a step-by-step journey of venture creation, we\u2019re advancing applied research, broadening the Startup Nation\u2019s deep-tech sector, and taking on seemingly intractable challenges to make the world a better place,\u2019\u201d Sella says.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \"Opmed \n <\/div>\n \n \n
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\n Opmed co-founders (from left to right) Prof. Baruch Barzel, chief scientist; Dr. Mor Brokman Meltzer, CEO; and Avi Paz, CTO. <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\u201c\u201cWe\u2019re interested in people more than in patents. We strive to help each aspiring entrepreneur, including our researchers, find and develop the leader within him or her, in whom investors will trust.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014Ariel Sella, Managing Director, UnBox Ventures<\/em><\/h6> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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This was precisely the process that led to the founding of Opmed.ai, startup that helps hospitals maximize their efficiency and resilience, beginning with the optimal use of their operating rooms. Currently in implementation in 15 American hospitals\u2014with plans to expand to dozens more in the coming year\u2014Opmed.ai began with a conversation between Sella and Dr. Mor Brokman Meltzer, then a doctoral student in business administration.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMor approached UnBox with the goal of creating a startup that would utilize her expertise in optimizing complex work-process networks,\u201d Sella explains. \u201cI proposed focusing on the problem of delays in operating rooms, which costs hospitals hundreds of millions each year. I then suggested that she bring in Bar-Ilan\u2019s renowned network-science researcher Prof. Baruch Barzel as co-founder and chief scientist.\u201d Brokman Meltzer completed her team by recruiting Avi Paz, a high-tech veteran who previously held senior positions at PayPal and Microsoft Health AI, to serve as co-founder and CTO. After completing the process of business modeling, market validation, and seed and investment rounds, Brokman Meltzer went on to create a strong advisory board, which includes an executive vice president at Geisinger Health System and the director of surgical services at Northwestern Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Four years, 15 employees and $15 million in funding later, Opmed.ai is proof of UnBox\u2019s concept for unleashing Bar-Ilan research into the world. It\u2019s also enabling surgeons to treat more patients, which is, Sella concludes, \u201cwhat Bar-Ilan research is really all about.\u201d<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Changemaking Companies<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Other UnBox companies tackling the world\u2019s biggest problems:<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \n NanoCarry <\/span>\n\n \n \n Through a proprietary, bioengineered, and fully adjustable nanoparticle platform, NanoCarry overcomes the blood-brain barrier to successfully deliver therapeutics directly to the brain. <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n DriftSense <\/span>\n\n \n \n Utilizing a unique AI-based platform, DriftSense provides farmers with an optimized spraying-execution plan for better crop yields and cost-effectiveness at scale. <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Pentaomix <\/span>\n\n \n \n Using hyperspectral imaging, Pentaomix allows pathologists to visualize all the markers required to diagnose cancer on a single slide\u2014quickly, simply, and affordably. <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Shela <\/span>\n\n \n \n Through a multi-disciplinary, AI-based platform that integrates clinical and biological data, Shela predicts and prevents women\u2019s health complications and offers personalized health-management plans. <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Malanta <\/span>\n\n \n \n An early-stage startup at the forefront of the alternative-meat industry, Malanta is developing a platform for the smart production of whole meat cuts on an industrial scale, thus paving the way for a more sustainable global food supply. <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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proposals from researchers for startups<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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research-group participants <\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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companies founded<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
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in funding raised<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Finding Gold<\/h3>
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UnBox aims to create a community of 100 startup-minded PhDs in the next four years through its Eureka! entrepreneurship program, launched in 2023. Featuring a foundational course, skills workshops, and individual coaching, Eureka! helps doctoral students\u2014the first cohort of which numbers 25\u2014turn their research into the basis for a deep-tech company. Additional UnBox programs for encouraging research-based entrepreneurship include the UnBox Residency Fellowships, which offer a one-year stipend, expert coaching, and office space at the UnBox Launchpad to entrepreneurial postdoctoral students, and Boost Stipends to PhD students who seek technological readiness to enter the UnBox Launchpad.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

<\/a>\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-innovation","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"
UnBox Ventures<\/h5>\n

Unleashing Innovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Thanks to UnBox\u2019s problem-centric approach to creating companies, a Bar-Ilan business PhD and network-science researcher are helping American operating rooms use their resources more efficiently. Coming soon to a hospital near you. <\/h6>\n

Starting Something<\/h3>

\u201cLots of aspiring entrepreneurs come to me with ideas,\u201d says Ariel Sella, founder and managing director of UnBox Ventures, Bar-Ilan\u2019s studio for venture creation. \u201cI tell them, \u2018Never mind ideas, come to me with a problem worth solving. Then we\u2019ve got something to talk about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>

Thanks to Sella\u2019s novel process for turning great research into companies\u2014including offering researchers and their co-founders majority holdings, intellectual-property waivers, pre-seed funding, and expert guidance\u2014UnBox, which is a now a partnership of Bar-Ilan and Mivtach Shamir Holdings, has helped solve many problems indeed. \u201cBy encouraging researchers to focus on problems first, then guiding them on a step-by-step journey of venture creation, we\u2019re advancing applied research, broadening the Startup Nation\u2019s deep-tech sector, and taking on seemingly intractable challenges to make the world a better place,\u2019\u201d Sella says.<\/p>\n\"Opmed Opmed co-founders (from left to right) Prof. Baruch Barzel, chief scientist; Dr. Mor Brokman Meltzer, CEO; and Avi Paz, CTO.\n\"photo\n

\u201c\u201cWe\u2019re interested in people more than in patents. We strive to help each aspiring entrepreneur, including our researchers, find and develop the leader within him or her, in whom investors will trust.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u2014Ariel Sella, Managing Director, UnBox Ventures<\/em><\/h6>\n

This was precisely the process that led to the founding of Opmed.ai, startup that helps hospitals maximize their efficiency and resilience, beginning with the optimal use of their operating rooms. Currently in implementation in 15 American hospitals\u2014with plans to expand to dozens more in the coming year\u2014Opmed.ai began with a conversation between Sella and Dr. Mor Brokman Meltzer, then a doctoral student in business administration.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cMor approached UnBox with the goal of creating a startup that would utilize her expertise in optimizing complex work-process networks,\u201d Sella explains. \u201cI proposed focusing on the problem of delays in operating rooms, which costs hospitals hundreds of millions each year. I then suggested that she bring in Bar-Ilan\u2019s renowned network-science researcher Prof. Baruch Barzel as co-founder and chief scientist.\u201d Brokman Meltzer completed her team by recruiting Avi Paz, a high-tech veteran who previously held senior positions at PayPal and Microsoft Health AI, to serve as co-founder and CTO. After completing the process of business modeling, market validation, and seed and investment rounds, Brokman Meltzer went on to create a strong advisory board, which includes an executive vice president at Geisinger Health System and the director of surgical services at Northwestern Medicine.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Four years, 15 employees and $15 million in funding later, Opmed.ai is proof of UnBox\u2019s concept for unleashing Bar-Ilan research into the world. It\u2019s also enabling surgeons to treat more patients, which is, Sella concludes, \u201cwhat Bar-Ilan research is really all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changemaking Companies<\/strong><\/h5>

Other UnBox companies tackling the world\u2019s biggest problems:<\/p>\n

NanoCarryThrough a proprietary, bioengineered, and fully adjustable nanoparticle platform, NanoCarry overcomes the blood-brain barrier to successfully deliver therapeutics directly to the brain.<\/h1>\n

DriftSenseUtilizing a unique AI-based platform, DriftSense provides farmers with an optimized spraying-execution plan for better crop yields and cost-effectiveness at scale.<\/h1>\n

PentaomixUsing hyperspectral imaging, Pentaomix allows pathologists to visualize all the markers required to diagnose cancer on a single slide\u2014quickly, simply, and affordably.<\/h1>\n

ShelaThrough a multi-disciplinary, AI-based platform that integrates clinical and biological data, Shela predicts and prevents women\u2019s health complications and offers personalized health-management plans.<\/h1>\n

MalantaAn early-stage startup at the forefront of the alternative-meat industry, Malanta is developing a platform for the smart production of whole meat cuts on an industrial scale, thus paving the way for a more sustainable global food supply.<\/h1>\n <\/circle> <\/svg> \n proposals from researchers for startups\n <\/circle> <\/svg> \n research-group participants\n <\/circle> <\/svg> \n companies founded\n <\/circle> <\/svg> \n in funding raised\n

Finding Gold<\/h3>

UnBox aims to create a community of 100 startup-minded PhDs in the next four years through its Eureka! entrepreneurship program, launched in 2023. Featuring a foundational course, skills workshops, and individual coaching, Eureka! helps doctoral students\u2014the first cohort of which numbers 25\u2014turn their research into the basis for a deep-tech company. Additional UnBox programs for encouraging research-based entrepreneurship include the UnBox Residency Fellowships, which offer a one-year stipend, expert coaching, and office space at the UnBox Launchpad to entrepreneurial postdoctoral students, and Boost Stipends to PhD students who seek technological readiness to enter the UnBox Launchpad.<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":82,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2967,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/2967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presidentreport.biu.ac.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}