A Pittsburgh startup has earned international prestige — and $1 million to go with it. 

Korion Health, an at-home heart and lung screening company that was No. 5 on Technical.ly’s 2024 RealLIST Startups, was awarded the prestigious Hult Prize last week in London. Out of a field of 100,000 teams, founder Anna Li and CTO Akshaya Anand were one of six to reach the finals, and then won the final pitch competition. 

The startup’s focus on healthcare advancements combined with its Pittsburgh roots helped land the win, according to Li. 

“I think the authenticity carried through and they understood that not only was our team deeply committed to changing the system, we also were uniquely positioned to do so,” Li told Technical.ly. 

An annual competition, the Hult Prize recognizes startups around the world committed to solving social issues. Korion Health was the only 2024 finalist from the United States. The other five: quantum chemistry startup Xatoms in Canada, remote speech therapy startup Lothgha in Egypt, energytech startup ProtonCraft in India, cervical cancer screening startup HerLens in Indonesia and fashion waste recycling startup Bean Around in Ireland. 

“A competent champion for patient’s rights and accessibility is something that resonates with just about everyone — and that’s what I hope to be.”

Up against that field, Li wasn’t expecting to win, and she even double-checked the card naming the winner when she came on stage to accept. But she thinks the mission stood out. 

“I think [the win] also speaks to the ubiquity of difficulty accessing healthcare, and a growing frustration in the public at the opacity of the process,” Li said. “A competent champion for patient’s rights and accessibility is something that resonates with just about everyone — and that’s what I hope to be.”

The Korion Health team is celebrating in Paris, but is eager to get to work with the new funds.

“Keep calm, carry on, the world has lots of problems to solve,” said Anand, the CTO.

They’ll start with working on FDA clearance for their USB-compatible stethoscope, “so we can unlock the ability to sell and start getting some revenue to be more self-sustaining,” Li said. 

Both tech and non-tech communities in her home city helped Li bring Korion Health this far, she said.

“My incredible neighbors in Greenfield, who come from humble roots and may not understand what the heck I do, but are always ready to support me,” Li said. “Whether it’s watching my dog Winston, making me a bowl of chili when I don’t have time to cook for myself, dropping off snacks or just providing a hug.”

Li’s parents immigrated to the US from China, which Li said shapes who she is and how she approaches her work. She’s very transparent about her failures, even listing them publicly on her website. In her downtime, she’s pursuing the world of science fiction authorship, and is currently on the hunt for a place that will publish her story. 

Korion Health's Mission and Impact

Korion Health is a startup led by Pitt students that has won the internationally prestigious Hult Prize. The company offers electronic stethoscopes with a guided user interface so patients can record their heart sounds from the privacy, comfort and convenience of home. This enables high-quality, affordable and engaging health screenings from home to combat heart and lung disease. Korion Health’s founder and CEO, Anna Li, is an MD/PhD student at the School of Medicine.

“I started as a medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Pitt in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, and really saw how existing disparities in health care access were made much worse,” said Li. “During cardiology class as a second-year medical student, I witnessed firsthand in the clinic how much of heart disease is preventable through early screenings and treatment — it just was out of reach for many people. This inspired the electronic stethoscope for home health monitoring project that became Korion Health.”

Supporting Innovation and Social Impact

A graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University-University of Pittsburgh Computational Biology Ph.D. Program, Li’s graduation is still four years away, in 2028. But that program has provided a world of support, too. 

Not just those connected to the program, but throughout the entire tech ecosystem. Laura Ohlund of LifeX mentors the Korion Health team connecting them with opportunities, and Nilo Medical Consulting Group is helping them get FDA clearance by trading babysitting hours for help. 

“Pittsburgh has contributed nearly everything for my success,” Li said. “It’s not the kind of new and shiny like Seattle or Austin is, but it’s got a deep sense of authenticity and resilience that I really connect with.”

The Hult Prize: A Catalyst for Social Change

The Hult Prize Foundation recently held its Global Final and named the social impact startup Korion Health from the University of Pittsburgh the annual $1 million Hult Prize winner. Korion Health has been developing a home health monitoring kit that enables patients to better understand their own healthcare, working in conjunction with its hardware design partner, Hellbender, a Pennsylvania Social Benefit Corporation. The company’s flagship product is an electronic stethoscope that teaches users how to collect their own heart and lung sounds.

The annual Hult Prize competition challenges for-profit student entrepreneurs from worldwide to create and launch businesses aimed at tackling the most pressing challenges they see in their communities. And this year, the competition welcomed 200,000 participants and 40,000 entrepreneurs from about 113 countries and 2,000 international universities who put forward 9,400 startup ideas. Every startup has to align with at least one U.N. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and have a “triple bottom line” focus on people, planet, and profit.

A Platform for Innovation and Social Impact

Every year since 2010, the Hult Prize posed a different challenge to competitors, with previous contests focused on healthcare, food insecurity, early childhood education, and sustainable fashion. But this year in recognition of the competition’s fifteenth anniversary, Hult Prize organizers expanded the competition to unlimited – welcoming all social impact ideas regardless of focus area.

Korion Health was selected for the Prize over five other teams invited to London for the Global Finals, which included:

• Bean Around (University College Dublin, Ireland): Bean Around produces “CoffChar,” a type of biochar, from recycled coffee grounds. The process produces clean, renewable energy as a byproduct.   

• HerLens (Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia): HerLens leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the accuracy of cervical cancer screenings. The company’s app and device aim to improve early detection via increased screening accuracy and reduced misdiagnosis.  

• LothghaApp (Mansoura University, Egypt): LothghaApp provides app-based speech therapy services including access to virtual speech pathologists, learning materials, classes and support groups. 

• ProtonCraft (Indian Institute of Technology, India): ProtonCraft has developed proprietary technology focused on decarbonizing oil refineries by turning harmful refinery waste into an alternative energy source: hydrogen.   

• Xatoms (University of Toronto and Western University, Canada): Xatoms leverages quantum chemistry and AI to identify materials that purify water faster and cheaper.

The competition also welcomed past Hult Prize winners, current partners, and influential leaders involved with sustainability and social impact investing to serve as judges, including Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers , LinHart Group Founder and Chairman Tsun-yan Shieh, BuuPass. CEO Wyclife Omondi (winner of the 2016 Hult Prize), and Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center Vice-Chairperson Najla Al-Midfa.

The winner was announced with featured speaker, actor, startup founder, and environmentalist Maisie Williams – who played Arya Stark on Game of Thrones. During an on-stage interview with Hult Prize CEO Lori van Dam, Williams had highlighted her experience and lessons learned while launching Daisie, a digital platform that empowers creators to present their work, identify opportunities, and collaborate with others to develop and advance their careers.

Looking Forward

The Hult Prize has empowered countless student entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams of making a positive impact on the world. Korion Health is a testament to the potential of social entrepreneurship to address critical challenges and create a more sustainable and equitable future. With the $1 million prize money, Korion Health is poised to expand its reach and make a significant impact on the lives of countless people. The company is now working towards FDA clearance for its product, which will enable it to bring its innovative home health monitoring device to market and make a difference in the lives of people who need it most.

Key Quotes:

“Korion Health is the latest example of a social enterprise that will positively impact the world based on an innovative idea, hard work, and the ability to prove that it is possible to do well by doing good in business. The Hult Prize is honored to support Korion Health while raising awareness for the thousands of businesses that participated in this competition, all of which aim to do their part to help make the world better by solving our shared challenges.” 

“Congratulations to Korion Health and to all the outstanding participants who have showcased truly innovative startup ideas with the potential to change our shared future for the better. The social entrepreneurship movement is vibrant and growing. In the past several years, we’ve doubled the number of startups competing, while welcoming teams from nearly all of the world’s top 500 universities. As we look to the future, it gives me hope that our most pressing global challenges can be solved through social enterprise.”

Korion Health's Future: A Vision for Impact

As Korion Health moves forward, it has the opportunity to become a leading force in the fight against heart and lung disease, improving health outcomes for individuals and communities around the world. The company's commitment to social impact is evident in its mission to make high-quality healthcare more accessible and affordable. The Hult Prize has provided Korion Health with a valuable platform and resources to achieve its goals. The company is now poised to make a significant impact on the world. The future of Korion Health looks bright, and the company's journey is an inspiring example of how innovation and social responsibility can go hand in hand.