2023 was an action-packed year for our team of scientists and builders here at Volta. From working to solve the sample prep bottleneck to expanding our team, filing patents, and making waves in the world of biology – join us on a journey through the growth and caffeinated dreams that fueled our groundbreaking year at Volta. Here's Volta’s Wrapped for 2023, and stay tuned for another exciting year of advancements in 2024!
- 10,000 samples processed on Volta’s instruments
- 6 product deployments
- 7 patents filed
- 24 new team members
- 5 abstracts accepted to the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting 2024
- 5 guest lectures by Volta team members
- 5, 287 americanos and 1,340 espressos made
- 78 team lunches
🧪 We put in the work.
- Over 10,000 samples processed on Volta’s instruments
The Volta team is already notorious for our output, but we took it to the next level in 2023. At the cusp of solving the “sample prep bottleneck,” our team has put in work processing over 10,000 samples to get our life-changing technology closer to market. That’s a nice jump from 3,500 the year before!
🔬 We used our collective genius to deploy new instruments.
- 6 product deployments
We were able to deploy 6 new instruments for testing thanks to the collaborative and broad disciplinary nature of our team. Some of these deployments were local, and some took our team traveling across the country to hand-deliver the instrument. Volta is an ecosystem of employees who refuse to work in silo’d labs - we’d rather be side-by-side with our colleagues and customers to get sh*t done and change the world of genomics.
💡 Innovation’s in our DNA, but the proof is in the patents.
- 7 patents filed
Volta team members are innovators first and foremost. We filed 7 patents in 2023 thanks to our team’s ability to think creatively and push boundaries. We emphasize impact at every level and encourage team members to always be on the lookout for opportunities to improve and win - who knows where our next big idea will come from?!
🚀 We hired some incredible talent!
- 24 new team members
As we accelerated toward commercialization, we needed some new talent to help us push the boundaries of biology. So, we added 24 curious, ambitious, and growth-minded humans to our Applications Development, Engineering, Commercial, and Operations teams. Not only that, we added to our leadership team and stayed true to our value that good ideas come from anywhere, with 75% of leaders hailing from underrepresented backgrounds. This is still just the beginning of our startup journey, and we’re already looking ahead to our growth plans and open positions for the next year.
🧬 Some would say we’re on the cutting-edge of genomics.
- 5 abstracts accepted to the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting 2024
AGBT is the premier conference for genomics technology, and Volta will be making a big splash in February 2024 with a remarkably high number of accepted abstracts. We can’t wait to share more about our platform and the future of genomics at the conference – come say hello if you’re planning to attend AGBT, and watch this space for more 2024 conferences we’ll be attending.
📣 We even had the chance to share our expertise.
- 5 guest lectures by our team
Our team members guest spoke for renowned institutions like MIT & Princeton - just to name a few. Despite being an early stage startup, we have a commitment to the broader STEM community. Volta empowers our team to learn out loud, share our story, and most importantly our findings, with other industry leaders and future biologists.
☕ We fueled our coffee culture.
- 5,287 americanos and 1,340 espressos made
America may run on a certain Massachusetts-based coffee & donut brand, but Volta runs on our in-house team of amateur baristas. James from Software Development is known for roasting his own coffee beans and sharing them with the office, and you’ll regularly find us gathered around the Terra Kaffe machine chatting about the latest instrument run results while we wait. We love these opportunities to connect with coworkers, and enjoy a little java courtesy of the company.
🥡 We stayed hungry.
- 78 team lunches
No one can change the world on an empty stomach, and luckily for us, sharing food is an integral part of Volta culture. We have lunch catered 2x per week and always make sure our team has dinner if they’re working late. The #lunchandtreats Slack channel is constantly popping with announcements of cookies in the kitchen and order links to group meals, which always leads to illuminating conversations and team building that fuels our work.
🎁 That’s a wrap!
Seeing these stats, you may think that’s everything we have to share from 2023 – quantitatively, collecting these data points was easy.
It’s much harder to capture the qualitative magic of the startup journey – from the satisfaction of a really productive whiteboarding session, to the sense of camaraderie around the lunch table, and the fulfillment from our personal and collective growth – that can’t be captured in words, much less in concrete numbers.
We know the feeling of pride for our people and what we’ve built together. We have so much to look forward to in 2024, and can’t wait to show the world our revolutionary technology and how it will unlock the utility of genomics for the world. You can follow us on our journey on X, LinkedIn, or even better, join in.
