SAN FRANCISCO — May 5, 2021 — The winners of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.

LogicInk, a San Francisco-based lifestyle sensor company, is developing colorimetric biosensors called LogicInk Genetic Signals, focused on the early detection of COVID-19. The non-invasive, saliva-based Signals can detect the presence of COVID-19 RNA, including new variants, within minutes. LogicInk’s solution can be efficiently mass-produced and does not require instrumentation, making it financially and logistically feasible to test entire populations for COVID-19. The sensitivity of the test is designed to be closer to that of a laboratory-based PCR solution, thus allowing for the detection of asymptomatic and presymptomatic carriers, including people vaccinated but still at risk of transmission to others. 

Think of every household in the world having a small box of LogicInk Genetic Signals — similar to a box of bandaids — that can be used to test anytime, anywhere.

Now in its fifth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 33 winners, more than 400 finalists, and more than 800 honorable mentions—with Health and Wellness, AI & Data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 4,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, and more. Plus, several new categories were added, including Pandemic Response, Urban Design, and Architecture. The 2021 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Brazil to Denmark to Vietnam.

Showcasing some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling exigent global challenges, Fast Company’s Summer 2021 issue (on newsstands May 10) highlights, among others, a lifesaving bassinet; the world’s largest carbon sink, thanks to carbon-eating concrete; 3D-printed schools; an at-home COVID-19 testing kit; a mobile voting app; and the world’s cleanest milk.

“It is an honor for LogicInk Genetic Signals to be recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea,” said Carlos Olguin, founder and CEO of LogicInk. “With the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, we are entering a new, post-pandemic reality where ongoing awareness of health-related conditions will constantly be top of mind. Consumers will want to know if they have been exposed to new diseases, variants, or even the common flu. Regular testing and/or awareness of what is within and around us will become part of the new normal as we safely reopen our economies.”

“There is no question our society and planet are facing deeply troubling times. So, it’s important to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, impact, design, scalability, and passion to solve these problems,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have discovered some of the most groundbreaking projects that have launched since the start of 2020.”

About the World Changing Ideas Awards
World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.

About LogicInk
LogicInk is a lifestyle sensor company, developing non-invasive tattoo-like biosensors called “Signals” that help consumers track and measure their bodies and the environments around them. Powered by programmable chemistry and biology, LogicInk Signals display a real-time readout on a person’s accumulation of UV exposure, pollution, hydration levels, alcohol consumption awareness (NIH funded), and more. We envision a future where LogicInk Signals seamlessly integrate into daily life, allowing us to see the invisible and take action to live a longer and healthier life. Backed by a team of world renowned physicists, chemists, designers, computer scientists, synthetic biologists, and physicians, LogicInk is headquartered in San Francisco, with partners and collaborators located around the world. For more information, visit logic.ink.