University of Toronto startup Xatoms is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and quantum chemistry to develop groundbreaking water purification solutions. Led by U of T computer engineering student Diana Virgovicova (CEO), and co-founded by fellow U of T undergrad Kerem Topal Ismail Oglou (CTO) and Western undergrad Shirley Zhong (COO), Xatoms has been on a winning streak of prestigious awards and accolades over the past several months.
But this is just the beginning of their mission to sustainably and accessibly clean polluted waters across the globe.
After encountering the detrimental effects of water pollution in the suburbs of Mumbai when she was just 14 years old, Virgovicova was inspired to undertake an innovation odyssey to revolutionize global water purification. Back home in Slovakia, she quickly rolled up her sleeves and got to work learning everything she could about water purification and quantum chemistry — a tool that can be used to predict the behaviour of atoms and molecules. Her goal was to use quantum chemistry to discover and develop widely accessible water purification technology for the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Virgovicova taught herself how to use quantum chemistry software and, at 17 years old, harnessed the technology to discover a molecule capable of breaking down organic water pollutants simply by exposure to sunlight. The molecule, known as a photocatalyst, can alter energy from sunlight for use in sterilization, energy conservation, and various other applications. Her breakthrough work, which eliminated the need to use expensive ultraviolet (UV) sources for purification, earned Virgovicova recognition via the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
Virgovicova came to U of T as a computer engineering undergraduate student via a Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship. Here, she merged artificial intelligence (AI) with quantum chemistry to quickly and efficiently discover new photocatalysts — an innovation which became the basis for Xatoms. Oglou, who is studying computer engineering at U of T, specializes in AI and brings this key piece of expertise to the company. An international student from Turkey, and the recipient of the RBC Scholarship for Diversity and Innovation in Technology, Oglou has been coding for the past nine years and is building Xatoms’ core technology. The startup now combines AI and quantum chemistry to discover photocatalysts that are stable, environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and tailored to the unique requirements of addressing water pollution on a global scale.
During the first half of 2024 alone, Xatoms garnered incredible momentum within and beyond Ontario’s startup ecosystem. This spring, the startup won the top early-stage prize of both ICUBE’s Pitch with a Twist competition at UTM and the Desjardins Startup Prize at the University of Toronto. In July, Xatoms won a record-breaking number of awards at Startupfest in Montreal, including the Women in Tech Investment Prize, the Front Row Ventures Student Entrepreneur Investment Prize, and the prestigious Best of the Fest Investment Prize for a total of $500,000. At the event, Xatoms also received the Emerging Companies Package from Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and was offered matching funds to their three Startupfest prizes from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). The startup’s winning year continues stronger than ever, with their recent selection as one of 14 finalists — out of 9,400 teams — to compete for the $1M Hult Prize this September in London, UK.
Earlier this year, Xatoms was accepted into the SpinUp wet-lab incubator at UTM as part of its inaugural cohort of startups. The University of Toronto Entrepreneurship ecosystem has also supported Xatoms via The Bridge at the University’s Scarborough campus.
On the innovation front, Virgovicova says Xatoms is working towards cleaning water for more than 100k people before 2026. Their ultimate goal is to solve the water pollution crisis that currently affects 2 billion people.
The team says they are incredibly grateful for the recognition and support they’ve received so far.
“It all happened so quickly beyond the horizons of our imagination,” says Virgovicova. “This will help us expand our technical team and speed up the material discovery process.”
With some hard-earned seed funding in the bank, the Xatoms team is eager to start deploying it to lab experiments and material manufacturing in their new SpinUp home.