The University of Tulsa and its venture fund, Hurricane Ventures, announced an investment in BioReact, an artificial intelligence and analytics platform designed to power modern bioprocess development and optimization. The funding will be used to accelerate BioReact’s go-to-market efforts and expand the platform’s product capabilities as it scales adoption across the life sciences sector.
Launched in April 2023, Hurricane Ventures invests in early-stage companies with strategic connections to the university. The fund leverages the university’s knowledge network and resources, advances UTulsa’s innovation ecosystem, supports portfolio growth, and contributes to regional economic development.
BioReact provides a unified system that allows scientific teams to aggregate data from multiple sources into a structured foundation. Scientists working with bioreactors, specialized containers used to grow cells for medicines and vaccines, often spend four to five hours manually organizing data from devices, spreadsheets, and lab notebooks before beginning analysis.
The BioReact platform enables scientists to upload data from disparate sources and automatically align datasets, delivering visualized results within seconds. Its AI engine analyzes parameters such as temperature, pH, and nutrient concentrations to identify optimal growth conditions that improve yields, reduce costs, and shorten development cycles. The no-code platform is designed for use across industries, including biopharma, industrial biotechnology, and synthetic biology.
BioReact was co-founded by CEO Mitchell Castetter and Joanna Lipinski, Ph.D. Castetter brings more than a decade of experience in biotech sales, having worked at Beckman Coulter and Cytena. Lipinski brings over 20 years of experience across high-tech and biotech, focused on building advanced software and data platforms for scientific research.
BioReact is the 12th company to receive support from Hurricane Ventures.
KEY QUOTES
“The support from The University of Tulsa and Hurricane Ventures allows us to accelerate development of software that genuinely serves scientists. Beyond the capital, access to UTulsa’s exceptional biotech talent gives us a unique advantage in refining the product alongside real scientific expertise, ensuring BioReact continues to deliver meaningful, practical improvements for teams running complex bioprocesses.”
Mitchell Castetter, CEO And Co-Founder, BioReact
“We are excited to support founders Mitchell and Joanna as they modernize bioprocess development and help scientists work more efficiently.”
Chris Wright, Assistant Vice President And Leader Of UTulsa’s Center For Innovation & Entrepreneurship
“We’re thrilled to back this team as they modernize the bioprocess workflow and ultimately help accelerate the development of pharmaceuticals and other critical products.”
Connor Sitton, Director Of Hurricane Ventures
