This is the story of Hypercell.
Like many startups, Hypercell’s story is both one of relentless focus on bringing to market new technology that will solve big problems and a winding journey shaped by opportunities, challenges, and pivotal encounters.
Hypercell’s origins trace back to research at the University of Georgia’s Department of Infectious Diseases, in collaboration with Professor Ralph Tripp. The initial idea was simple but transformative: a rapid on-site test to detect influenza in pigs, fast enough to prevent outbreaks before they spread. From that breakthrough grew a broader vision—to bring lab-grade accuracy and real-time insights to the entire food chain, from farm to table.
For founder, Dr. Bruno Jactel, the roots go back to his childhood on a farm, where his early dream was to become a veterinarian and save the lives of wild animals in Africa. That path led him to teach infectious diseases at the Vet School in Paris and, eventually, to the U.S., where Hypercell would take shape.
The COVID-19 pandemic became an unexpected accelerator. Suddenly, the whole world saw the limitations of existing diagnostics: either rapid but unreliable at-home kits, or accurate PCR tests that took days to return results. This tradeoff—speed or accuracy, but not both—is exactly the same challenge food safety managers face daily when trying to prevent contamination in the foods we all eat.
Motivated to change this, Hypercell built its first battery of tests—expanding from flu to Salmonella, E. coli, and beyond—within a year. We found a home at the University of Illinois’s EnterpriseWorks incubator, where we gained access to state-of-the-art labs, strong faculty partnerships, and a thriving food tech ecosystem in the Chicago area.
In 2024, Hypercell moved its headquarters to Ithaca, NY, and welcomed Dr. Loïc Deblais as Chief Science Officer. With 15 years of diagnostics experience—and unique fieldwork building labs in rural Ethiopia—Loïc brought not only technical excellence but also a practical, global perspective.
Today, Hypercell partners with Fortune 100 food companies to give them what they’ve long needed but never had: speed and accuracy together. By delivering real-time, reliable insights into the food supply chain, we help make food safer, reduce recalls, and protect the meals that land on our plates every day.
NOW & NEXT
Today, Hypercell works with Fortune 100 food processors to bring speed, safety, and visibility to the food chain. But at its core, the mission remains deeply human.
Science is never just science. It’s a commitment to the lives behind the data, a promise to do right by the systems we study and the people they sustain.
By the end of 2025, Hypercell will be deployed in major food and beverage production facilities across the U.S. and implemented in central labs across the globe.
