Olympus acquires UK AI endoscopy company Odin Vision in ‘up to’ £66 million deal

UK-based Odin Vision, a Cloud AI endoscopy company has been acquired by Olympus Corporation (Olympus) for up to £66 million. The deal will see Olympus acquire Odin’s entire portfolio of AI solutions, giving Odin’s technology reach worldwide. 

“I'm incredibly proud of the team. We started with a university research project at UCL and transformed it into a commercial healthcare technology that will help millions around the world in the fight against cancer," says Peter Mountney, CEO of Odin Vision. The commercial entity grew from the research of Patrick Brandão, Professor Danail Stoyanov, and Professor Laurence Lovat at Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Centre for Surgical Sciences, UCL. 

“Incorporating Odin Vision’s leading AI technology portfolio and innovation capabilities into the broader Olympus digital roadmap will create synergies that enable us to commercialise highly valuable endoscopy-focused software tools. Their product portfolio fits perfectly with our broader efforts to enhance the capabilities we bring in support of clinicians and to help care teams harness decision-driving data," says Nacho Abia, Chief Operating Officer of Olympus. 

Odin Vision was established in 2019, where it was supported by UCLB to commercialise the spin-out - its solution provides colorectal cancer detection.

“We are very excited to see Odin Vision’s successful exit to Olympus. UCLB has worked with Odin over a number of years to create a real-world impact from the research, through IP support and access to funding, as well as hands-on advice and guidance from the UCLB team. Odin Vision’s success is testament to the hard work that goes on within our commercialisation team supporting spinouts to realise their full potential as they work to tackle society’s biggest challenges," says Dr. Anne Lane, CEO of UCLB. 

Olympus has also announced plans to develop and establish Digital Excellence Centres beginning in London where the acquisition of Odin Vision has laid the groundwork - DECs are to be located at current Olympus R&D sites in Hamburg, Boston and Tokyo, with the possibility of expanding to Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv at a later stage.

"We are excited to set the stage for future innovation development by leading Olympus' plans for the first DECs, all in the pursuit of empowering clinicians to deliver the best possible care and outcomes to patients using the latest digital and AI tools," says Peter Mountney, Ph.D., CEO of Odin Vision. 

"As Olympus looks to expand development capabilities in digital solutions, establishing DECs around the globe will allow us to access critical talent and to develop partnerships with start-ups and other companies who, like Odin Vision, are pushing the envelope of creative innovation," says Karsten Klose, Global Head of Digital at Olympus.