Diana Virgovicova and Kerem Topal Ismail Oglou (supplied image)
Xatoms startup named Hult Prize finalist, wins three prizes at Startupfest
Published: July 25, 2024
Xatoms, a startup co-founded by University of Toronto students Diana Virgovicova and Kerem Topal Ismail Oglou, has been recognized with three prizes at Startupfest 2024.
The company, which uses quantum chemistry and AI to discover molecules that can efficiently purify water, took home the $100,000 Best of the Fest, $100,000 Women in Tech Investment and $50,000 Front Row Ventures Student Entrepreneur prizes. Those prizes will be matched by the Business Development Bank of Canada, bringing Xatoms’s total winnings at Startupfest to $500,000.
Additionally, Xatoms has also been selected among the top 14 out of 9,400 teams for the prestigious Hult Prize, and will compete for the $1-million grand prize in September.
The startup evolved out of a discovery that Virgovicova, its CEO, made at age 17 when she used quantum chemistry software to model a photocatalyst molecule that can eliminate pollutants from water when exposed to sunlight.
Xatoms, which was part of The Bridge accelerator program at U of T Scarborough and is now part of the SpinUp wet lab incubator at U of T Mississauga, builds on that discovery by incorporating AI and machine learning to discover more – and more efficient – materials and molecules.
