JIC Showcases Five Science-Driven Startups Redefining Innovation from Brno

BRNO, Czech Republic, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At this year's Velvet Innovation Conference, organized by the innovation agency JIC, five emerging projects of ACTOSens, Citymind, Lightly, EpiQ, and Veriteus showcased how deep-tech ecosystem of the Brno region turns cutting-edge research into global impact.

JIC  plays a key role in helping early-stage founders bridge academia and business, turning lab discoveries into scalable companies tackling global challenges.

ACTOSens is an early-stage biotech company redefining how sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed. Built on research at Masaryk University, it's creating an electrochemical platform for fast, reliable urine-based testing outside the lab. Its compact analyzer delivers lab-grade accuracy and privacy, making advanced diagnostics accessible to all.

Citymind  addresses challenges of higher education in the AI era. Its new project, AI Campus, offers universities an intelligent operating system that transforms administration and learning into a personalized digital ecosystem. The system provides AI mentors for students, automates up to 80% of routine tasks, and offers predictive analytics for academic optimization. The first pilot runs at Mendel University in Brno.

Lightly  is a deep-tech startup developing Catcher, a portable forensic intelligence device that transforms drug detection into actionable intelligence. It enables law enforcement to identify lethal drugs like fentanyl in minutes while linking results, tracing supply chains, and building a global database of chemical "fingerprints" to proactively disrupt trafficking networks.

EpiQ , developed by SmartVision, is a visual AI assistant that redefines how people interact with technology. By combining augmented reality and computer vision, it turns complex manuals into intuitive, interactive visual guidance. EpiQ digitalizes human work instead of replacing it, making industrial operations simpler, safer, and more efficient.

Finally, Veriteus is a science-driven AI company building a multi-modal fraud detection system that analyzes voice, video, and behavioral data to detect stress and deception in real time. Designed for finance and security, it helps organizations prevent manipulation and ensure responsible decision-making.

The Velvet Innovation Conference 2025 brought together hundreds of innovators, investors, and researchers to explore what it means to act bravely in innovation. The selection of showcased startups exemplifies how Brno continues to grow as one of Europe's most vibrant hubs for deep-tech entrepreneurship.