NIIMBL’s Technology Innovation Tank Award Presented to Kathy Yeung and ViQi, Inc.

Describing ViQi’s use of predictive AIs and brightfield imaging edged out competitors in this shark-tank style session at the 2026 NIIMBL National Meeting

SANTA BARBARA, CA, UNITED STATES, July 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ViQi, Inc., a technology company developing solutions for the life sciences sector using machine learning and high-resolution imaging, announced that ViQi won the Technology Innovation Award at the 10th Annual NIIMBL National Meeting in Washington, D.C. on June 25, 2026.

Kathy Yeung, CEO of ViQi, pitched the productization of ViQi’s use of predictive AIs and brightfield imaging to leverage cells as sensors to provide insights into cellular phenotypes unique to real-time conditions in incubators and bioreactors. Yeung discussed ViQi’s flagship product AVIA, an automated viral infectivity assay developed to mitigate the pain points associated with standard infectivity assays like plaque assays and TCID50 methods. Applying ViQi’s technology to any number of cell-based assays provides several advantages over current standard approaches like a reduction in consumables and hands-on time, tighter assay precision, and increased throughput.

NIIMBL, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, is a public-private partnership focused on advancing biopharmaceutical manufacturing, solving industry challenges, and developing the skilled workforce to meet industry’s needs. NIIMBL is made up of a range of stakeholders, including Industry (large and small companies), Academia (research institutions, community colleges, and training centers), Non-profits (professional organizations and research centers), and Government (state government and federal agencies). Members have the opportunity to collectively revolutionize current biomanufacturing platforms, processes, and educational programs and share in the benefits of these transformative solutions.

“Joining NIIMBL last year has been so impactful to ViQi for so many reasons,” said Yeung. “Winning the 2026 Technology Innovation Award is just the most recent benefit we’ve gotten from being part of this community while also giving us a chance to help our customers and partners confidently adopt AI/ML into regulated workflows. Biomanufacturers must adopt innovative solutions, like AI, to stay competitive, but it is important to have an expert in the field who can help de-risk adoption of new technologies – which is one of the things ViQi focuses on.”

ViQi was one of three organizations chosen to participate in NIIMBL’s Technology Innovation Tank competition. Yeung presented on behalf of ViQi, pitching to three panelists representing diverse industry perspectives. The pitch was assessed based on technology readiness, value to the industry, the risk profile, and market potential. The expert panel voted on the most promising technology with ViQi coming out on top in a highly competitive field. As a follow-up to this award, ViQi has been invited to engage with the BioInnovation Group (BIG) for support towards technology implementation. Yeung explained, “We are looking to leverage the deep industry expertise and experience of the BIG members to help us refine our market positioning, develop a scaling strategy, and navigate our upcoming fundraising transition.”

“We had three excellent companies, chosen from among many great submissions, that were selected to participate in our innovation tank session,” said Kelvin Lee, Institute Director of NIIMBL. “The novel technologies presented will all be impactful to the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, and ViQi's presentation of the technology and company was selected by the panel as the winner. All three companies pitched exciting, innovative technologies with broad commercialization potential to help push the industry into the next frontier.”

About ViQi, Inc.
ViQi is a California-based AI applications company building novel solutions to modernize analytical workflows in bioprocess development. We partner with CDMOs, CROs, and biopharma teams to transform complex, cell-based assays into scalable, standardized, and data-driven workflows. By combining advanced imaging, machine learning, and cloud-based infrastructure, ViQi enables laboratories to replace subjective, manual analysis with reproducible and quantifiable outputs that integrate seamlessly into regulated environments. Our platform is designed to improve consistency, reduce turnaround times, and support confident decision-making across development pipelines.

Heather Lorenz
ViQi, Inc.
marketing@viqiai.com
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