Advanced Optronics Participates in NSF I-Corps

In March 2023, Advanced Optronics received a $50,000 National I-Corps Teams grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant funded our study of customer needs and market dynamics. Hannah Mormer led the customer discovery, with our regulatory advisor, Elora Gupta, as industry mentor.

Over the following months we interviewed more than 100 stakeholders about their experiences and challenges. The grant also took us to two conferences, the American Cochlear Implant Alliance Annual Conference in Dallas and the Conference on Implantable Auditory Prostheses in California. Thanks to NSF, and to everyone who took the time to speak with us.

Before the national program, we took part in a 2021 regional cohort of the NSF I-Corps Hub Mid-Atlantic Region. “We went into I-Corps thinking we had a product for neuroscientists,” Jay Reddy told the Hub. “We pivoted our technology strategy after talking with surgeons.”

Read the Hub’s article.