Kompass
Chicago, US · 3 known investors
Find your way into Kompass
Kompass Diagnostics is developing a rapid point-of-care hormone testing platform that uses a cartridge-based analyzer to quantify hormone levels quickly and store results in EHR systems. Its tests target fertility, reproductive, and thyroid monitoring for clinics, satellite locations, Ob/Gyn providers, and diagnostic centers.
Also known as Kompass Diagnostics · Kompass Diagnostics, Inc. · KompassDx
Founders & leadership
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Kompass Diagnostics is a Chicago-based diagnostics company developing a compact point-of-care platform that performs laboratory-quality blood testing from a small whole-blood sample. The workflow involves inserting a test cartridge into the Kompass analyzer, collecting venous or capillary whole blood, and applying a 10 microliter sample to the cartridge inlet via a capillary tube. The analyzer handles calibration, sample preparation, quantitative analysis, and upload of results to electronic health record systems, with results available within 10 minutes. An on-screen guide is intended to allow healthcare professionals with minimal laboratory training to run the analyses, and the instrument calibrates each cartridge before analysis as part of quality control.
The company's first product, IDA, is a rapid hormone analyzer intended for use by fertility specialists and patients, measuring blood hormone levels within 10 minutes from a finger-prick sample. Each test provides a distinct panel of hormones aimed at time-sensitive decisions across fertility care, including intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and egg freezing. Hormone monitoring during ovarian stimulation currently relies on in-house clinic laboratories or central laboratory testing, which the company positions as costly and requiring in-person visits.
As of 2025 the company states that the Kompass system is in development and not available for in vitro diagnostic use.
Founding story
Hyun-June Jang was a postdoctoral researcher in Junhong Chen's laboratory at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering when he reconnected with Mingoo Kim, then pursuing an MBA and seeking to start a company; the two had known each other from Johns Hopkins. In 2022 they cofounded Kompass Diagnostics with Hyouarm Joung, a co-inventor of the technology from Aydogan Ozcan's laboratory at UCLA. Kim and Joung subsequently moved to Chicago to pursue the startup full time and to be near the area's universities and talent pipeline.
Business model
Kompass is a pre-commercial diagnostics developer building an instrument-plus-consumable system: a Kompass analyzer used together with single-use test cartridges, each cartridge offering a defined hormone panel. The company has secured an exclusive license to university-originated foundational technology and is leading further commercialization and clinical development of the platform.
Traction
As of July 2026 the company reported $2.7 million raised in total financing, an exclusive license to the underlying university technology, and selection as a finalist for and then recipient of the 2026 ADLM Disruptive Technology Award, along with the competition's Audience Favorite Award. The product remains in development and is not available for in vitro diagnostic use; the website offers a waitlist sign-up. The team is described as combining diagnostics commercialization experts and academic researchers with a collective record of launching six FDA/CE-approved point-of-care tests.
Latest developments
In July 2026 the University of Chicago's Polsky Center reported that Kompass had secured an exclusive license to the ETA platform technology and was continuing development for clinical applications, had raised $2.7 million to date, and was looking to close another funding round in the near term. The company was selected as a finalist for the 2026 ADLM Disruptive Technology Award and subsequently received the award along with the Audience Favorite Award at the ADLM Annual Meeting.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Kompass positions its platform as an alternative to traditional phlebotomy and central laboratory testing for hormone monitoring. It frames the principal market barrier as the cost of building laboratory infrastructure for same-day hormone testing, which limits fertility clinic capacity and concentrates clinics in metropolitan areas, and targets lower-cost testing in satellite monitoring centers and Ob/Gyn practices as demand for fertility treatment grows.
The company emphasizes a new electrical-transduction device architecture rather than miniaturization of existing laboratory analyzers, enabling chemistry, immunoassay, and molecular diagnostics on one device with reported higher sensitivity than conventional tests; a 10-minute turnaround from a finger-prick sample with automatic EHR upload; and operability by staff with minimal laboratory training.
Technology
The platform is based on the Electrical Transduction Assay (ETA), a biological-to-electrical signal transduction framework that converts biochemical events directly into digital information using semiconductor chips to measure electrochemical signals from enzymatic reactions. The architecture is described as resembling the electronics of consumer devices rather than miniaturized laboratory instruments, reducing complexity and cost. It uses high-sensitivity biosensors to detect multiple blood-based biomarkers and supports biochemical, immunoassay, and molecular testing on a single device, with reported sensitivity comparable to or higher than conventional laboratory instruments. The system runs on 10 microliters of whole blood (venous or capillary), returns quantitative results and uploads them to EHR systems within 10 minutes. The foundational technology was co-developed by researchers at UCLA and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.
Go-to-market
Fertility specialists and clinics, satellite monitoring centers, and Ob/Gyn practices, as well as patients performing testing at home.
Geography
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States, with founding technology developed at the University of Chicago and UCLA.
History
Kompass Diagnostics was founded in 2022 and is registered in Illinois. Shortly after founding, Jang participated in University of Chicago Polsky Center programs including I-Corps, which the team credits with supporting its commercialization path and its decision to build in Chicago. In November 2024 the company announced $1.6 million in pre-seed financing led by Bass Ventures. It later secured an exclusive license to the University of Chicago-affiliated foundational technology, was named a finalist and then recipient of the 2026 Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine Disruptive Technology Award, and reported $2.7 million raised to date as of July 2026.
Risks & controversies
The Kompass system remains in development and is not cleared or available for in vitro diagnostic use, so commercialization depends on further development and regulatory progress. The company stated in July 2026 that it was seeking to close an additional funding round to continue developing the platform.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — 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 — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsKompass Diagnostics secured an exclusive licensing agreement for the Electrical Transduction Assay platform developed at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and UCLA, and will lead further commercialization and clinical development.
After being named a finalist, Kompass Diagnostics was selected to receive the 2026 Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine Disruptive Technology Award and also took the Audience Favorite Award at the ADLM Annual Meeting.
Chicago-based Kompass Diagnostics announced $1.6 million in pre-seed financing led by Bass Ventures, with participation from Kakao Ventures and Digital Healthcare Partners.
$1.6M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Kompasskompassdx.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Kompass do?
- Kompass Diagnostics develops a finger-prick, cartridge-based point-of-care analyzer for rapid multi-hormone testing in fertility care.
- Who founded Kompass?
- Kompass was founded by Mingoo Kim, Hyouarm Joung, June Jang.
- Who are Kompass's investors?
- Kompass's investors include Kakao Ventures.
- Where is Kompass headquartered?
- Kompass is headquartered in Chicago, US.