Biotia
Founded 2016 Β· 26 employees on LinkedIn Β· 15 known investors
Biotia develops infectious disease diagnostics using clinical metagenomic next-generation sequencing paired with artificial intelligence, offering diagnostic tests and genomics software for patients, providers, and health systems managing challenging infections. Its products detect pathogens and antimicrobial resistance markers and support genomic surveillance and infection control.
Also known as Biotia, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Biotia was founded in 2016 by Chris Mason, Niamh O'Hara, and Niamh B. O'Hara.
Investors Β· 15
Also in the syndicate Β· 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Biotia is a health technology company that develops infectious disease diagnostics and pathogen genomics software, combining clinical metagenomic next-generation sequencing with artificial intelligence. Its stated focus is patients, providers, and health systems dealing with infections that standard testing does not resolve, and its products span at-home diagnostic tests, laboratory services, and software used by hospitals and research consortia.
The diagnostic line is branded BIOTIA-ID. The BIOTIA-ID Urine Test performs metagenomic detection of more than 44 urogenital pathogens plus an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) panel from a single urine sample, priced at $249 with a 2β3 business day turnaround, and is available to patients through a telehealth partner. A BIOTIA-ID Joint Fluid Test detects pathogens and resistance markers in synovial fluid for native and prosthetic joint infections. On the software side, BIOTIA-DX is a pathogen genomic analysis platform of proprietary bioinformatic pipelines that process next-generation sequencing data for genome assembly, lineage identification, variant detection, strain-level SNP resolution, and AMR profiling against a curated database of more than 7,000 clinically curated microbes, working with single-end, paired-end, and long-read data validated on Illumina and Oxford Nanopore output. BIOTIA-DX is offered both as licensed software and as the BIOTIA-DX Isolate & Outbreak service for healthcare facilities, supporting infection control and antimicrobial stewardship through custom cgMLST typing, plasmid characterization, clonal complex identification, phylogenetic trees, and comparison against publicly available outbreak genomes. GeoSeeq is a cloud platform for genomic surveillance and microbiome research described as used by over 100 organizations across 100 countries.
Biotia operates a high-complexity, CLIA-certified diagnostic laboratory in New York City, described in a 2022 announcement as a SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University-affiliated CLIA lab at BioBAT in Brooklyn. Its senior team includes co-founder and CEO Niamh O'Hara, co-founder and Global Director Christopher Mason, CMO Dorottya Nagy-Szakal, CSO Mara Couto-Rodriguez, CTO David Danko, and CFO John Lomoro, alongside a board that includes investors from OCA Ventures, DigitalDx Ventures, and Convergent Ventures.
Founding story
Biotia is a spinout of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, formed out of research led by Dr. Niamh O'Hara and Dr. Chris Mason. The company describes its trajectory as moving from academic research to clinical deployment, establishing a high-complexity CLIA-certified laboratory in New York City where continuing R&D produces new diagnostic and software tools for infectious disease.
Business model
Biotia monetizes through clinical diagnostic testing performed in its own CLIA-certified laboratory and through pathogen genomics software and services. Diagnostic tests are sold at a stated list price (for example $249 for the urine test) and reached patients via a telehealth partner, while BIOTIA-DX is available either as licensed software or as a customizable isolate and outbreak detection service for healthcare facilities. The company states it is working to obtain insurance reimbursement and to expand access through partnerships with clinics, hospitals, and telehealth providers.
Revenue comes from per-test diagnostic fees (BIOTIA-ID urine and joint fluid tests), software licensing of the BIOTIA-DX platform, and fee-based genomic analysis services such as BIOTIA-DX Isolate & Outbreak for hospitals and laboratories.
Traction
Milestones include first-ever New York State regulatory approval for a genomics- and AI-powered urine infectious disease test (2024), an AMA Proprietary Laboratory Analyses code for the BIOTIA-ID urine NGS assay (2025), expanded FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its SARS-CoV-2 variant sequencing assay, published clinical validation of its UTI test in a microbiology journal (2026), best antimicrobial resistance prediction accuracy at CAMDA 2025 followed by a second consecutive CAMDA win, and GeoSeeq usage by over 100 organizations across 100 countries. Collaborations span Mayo Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery, NASA JPL, and a Korean pharmaceutical company.
Latest developments
Recent announcements include the launch of clinically approved drug resistance reporting for complicated UTIs alongside a second consecutive CAMDA win (2026-05-19), publication of a clinical validation of its advanced UTI test in a microbiology journal (2026-04-23), a "test to treat" offering for recurrent urinary tract infections (2025-09-08), a collaboration with Hospital for Special Surgery on prosthetic joint infection diagnostics (2025-09-02), an AMA PLA code for the BIOTIA-ID urine NGS assay (2025-07-15), a partnership with a Korean pharmaceutical company to advance infectious disease diagnostics in remote regions and in space (2025-07-08), and a Mayo Clinic collaboration on microbial identification (2025-04-02).
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company describes itself as a leader in the emerging clinical metagenomics space for infectious disease diagnostics, working with institutions including NASA JPL, the Mayo Clinic Platform, Hospital for Special Surgery, and global research consortia such as MetaSUB, with its GeoSeeq platform reported in use by over 100 organizations across 100 countries.
Biotia contrasts BIOTIA-ID with 16S-based NGS competitors and standard culture on turnaround (2β3 business days), taxonomic resolution (species or strain level), breadth of detectable organisms, genome coverage, lower contamination and false-positive risk, and integrated antimicrobial resistance prediction. For software, it argues that existing metagenomic tools require coding or bioinformatics expertise and return long undifferentiated species lists, whereas BIOTIA-DX is optimized for ease of use and a low false-positive rate. The company also cites regulatory and validation milestones, including first-ever New York State approval for a genomics- and AI-powered urine infectious disease test, an AMA PLA code, an expanded FDA EUA for its SARS-CoV-2 variant assay, and peer-reviewed clinical validation.
Technology
The core technology is clinical metagenomic next-generation sequencing combined with AI-based bioinformatics. Biotia positions clinical metagenomics as pathogen-agnostic and more comprehensive than 16S sequencing or culture, citing species- and strain-level resolution, detection across bacteria, fungi, anaerobes, fastidious and atypical pathogens, analysis of thousands of genes across the genome, filtering of healthy commensals from reports, and clinically validated resistance reporting. The BIOTIA-DX pipelines perform genome assembly and annotation, lineage identification, SNP-level strain typing, custom cgMLST, plasmid characterization (e.g., mecA-carrying plasmids), disambiguation of closely related groups such as E. coli, Shigella and Klebsiella, and AMR gene detection across a database of over 7,000 clinically curated microbes, supporting Illumina and Oxford Nanopore data.
Go-to-market
Biotia reaches patients directly through a telehealth partner and through partnerships with clinics, hospitals, and telehealth providers; sells software licenses and genomic analysis services to hospitals, laboratories, and researchers via direct business development (info@biotia.io); and builds credibility through peer-reviewed publications, institutional research collaborations (NASA, Mayo Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery), regulatory approvals, and reimbursement efforts including an AMA PLA code.
Patients with challenging or recurrent infections (notably urinary tract and joint infections), clinicians and providers ordering advanced infectious disease testing, hospitals and health systems running infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship programs, clinical and research laboratories, and public health and research organizations conducting genomic surveillance.
Geography
Biotia is based in New York City, where it operates its high-complexity CLIA-certified laboratory (described in 2022 as a SUNY Downstate-affiliated CLIA lab at BioBAT). Its research and surveillance reach is international: the GeoSeeq platform is reported in use by organizations across 100 countries, and announced partnerships extend to Korea, remote regions, space-based sampling, and the Pasteur Network.
History
Launched from the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech, Biotia built infectious disease research and clinical products including a curated pathogen genomics database, a sequencing-based assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants that received an expanded FDA Emergency Use Authorization, and clinical-grade metagenomics assays. It raised an $8 million Series A led by OCA Ventures in August 2022. In October 2023 the GeoSeeq Foundation and the Pasteur Network announced a partnership on climate-associated infectious disease. In November 2024 Biotia obtained New York State regulatory approval for a genomics- and AI-powered urine infectious disease test. During 2025 it announced a Mayo Clinic collaboration, a CAMDA 2025 result for antimicrobial resistance prediction accuracy, a partnership with a Korean pharmaceutical company, an AMA Proprietary Laboratory Analyses code for the BIOTIA-ID urine NGS assay, a collaboration with Hospital for Special Surgery on prosthetic joint infection diagnostics, and a "test to treat" offering for recurrent UTIs. In 2026 it announced publication of a clinical validation of its UTI test and the launch of clinically approved drug resistance reporting for complicated UTIs.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Competitors Β· 2
by search overlap
Companies competing with Biotia for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 11
launches, deals, and filingsBiotia announced an oversubscribed $8 million Series A led by OCA Ventures, with participation from Continuum Health Ventures, Phoenix Venture Partners, SeedtoB Capital, SK Square Americas, Digital-Dx Ventures and others; proceeds to expand technical capabilities, compliance, and marketing reach.
$8M source β
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 7
primary sources listed
- Biotiabiotia.io Β· web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Biotia do?
- Biotia pairs clinical metagenomic sequencing with AI to diagnose infections and detect antimicrobial resistance.
- Who founded Biotia?
- Biotia was founded by Chris Mason, Niamh O'Hara, Niamh B. O'Hara in 2016.
- Who are Biotia's investors?
- Biotia's investors include Cloquet Capital Partners, LLC, DigitalDx Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, Red Bear Ventures, SeedToB, Tau Ventures, Third Act Ventures, Hyperplane Venture Capital and 4 more.