IRIS wins Innovation Award competition

IRIS: Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems won first place and a $100,000 cash prize at the Innovation Awards competition on Friday. Innovation Coast, Space Florida and the Florida SBDC Network selected ten presenting finalists from a wide range of startups that pitched their business plans during the rigorous competition.

“We are humbled to receive this award because of the caliber of finalists that were at the competition,” said Sunil Gupta, M.D., Founder and CMO of IRIS. “It is exciting to see our community and the state of Florida rally behind my vision to stamp out Diabetic Retinopathy as the leading cause of blindness in the United States. I would like this to be part of my legacy, and we received strong affirmation of that vision today.”

The competitors appeared before an influential panel of judges and a room full of entrepreneurs, Florida business leaders, and venture capital investors. Cash and prizes valued at more than $215,000 were awarded, and previous Space Florida-sponsored competitions have led to more than $40 million in total capital investment for participating companies.

Julie Sheppard, Vice Chair of Innovation Coast commented, “We are so excited that IRIS was the winner of the Innovation Awards. We expect great things for them as they rock the world with their new technology preventing Diabetic Retinopathy and other diseases.”

“It means a lot to us that we have this type of investment flowing into our community,” said IRIS CEO Jason Crawford. “We are creating jobs and bringing healthcare dollars to our area, and this award will allow us to scale faster and fulfill our mission of ending preventable blindness for patients around the world. We are honored to receive this important award and are very thankful for Innovation Coast and Space Florida for putting this event on.”