Our mission
To help accelerate human discovery and fight disease by enabling everyone to see and understand the microscopic details of life
Our story
ONI was founded in 2016 by Bo Jing and Achillefs Kapanidis. A spin-out from Oxford University, it is now a leading and rapidly growing biotech redefining the boundaries of scientific discovery with super-resolution microscopy.
The Nanoimager, ONI’s flagship product, is the world’s first desktop super-resolution microscope, capable of visualizing, tracking and imaging individual molecules in living cells with 20nm resolution.
Each team at ONI – from scientists to software engineers to sales teams – wants to create and provide innovative technologies that will empower researchers and users alike. We want to accelerate human discovery and fight disease and in doing so drive super-resolution microscopy to novel frontiers.
ONI core
ONI was founded on the values that the best is yet to come and that with the right people working together, using the most advanced science and technology, we can solve the world’s biggest problems. This has fostered a forward-thinking, creative, and inclusive culture at its core, where employees at ONI (ONIees) are driven to use their skill sets to advance and empower as many people around the globe as possible with our technologies.
ONI science
Our science starts with the passion to understand the molecular mechanisms of life to enable us to unlock a new generation of diagnostics and treatments. Our Nanoimager is just the beginning of this journey. We continuously develop new instruments, applications and AI powered software to fulfil the potential of super-resolution microscopy. And most importantly, to make it accessible to all researchers.
ONI Promise
We pride ourselves on delivering technologies that will empower the user, no matter what their background, allowing you to focus purely on your research and discovery. We will work with you and support you to reach and surpass your potential with super-resolution microscopy, driving research across the globe and advancing the future of drug development and disease diagnostics.
Our values
Empower others
Empower others
We make products that empower people to go after the biggest challenges facing healthcare and life sciences.
Get it right, urgently
Get it right, urgently
We know it is possible to build great products and deliver them quickly. Every day we delay or don’t get it right, we are responsible of discoveries not being made.
Think details, make simple
Think details, make simple
We honor the purpose of our products by obsessing about the smallest details to make them as intuitive and automated as possible.
Selflessness
Selflessness
We leave our egos outside when we come to work. Our thoughts, motivations and actions are aligned to advance our mission as a team: to serve the needs of the many instead of the few.
Communicate freely
Communicate freely
We have the permission and duty to think and speak freely. Raising criticism publicly is actively encouraged and rewarded. No criticism is uncomfortable for us to hear, no idea is impossible to consider.
Learn from the best
Learn from the best
We know that learning from the best is vital to improve. We are committed to seeking exceptional people who can contribute to our culture and science.
Create abundance
Create abundance
We make exclusive technology affordable through commercial and technical innovation. Our products remove the scarcity of knowledge, understanding and learning, thereby helping others drive innovation and create future wealth. We lead by example within ONI, freely sharing our expertise and going out of our way to help each other solve hard problems.
It’s never good enough
It’s never good enough
We are dissatisfied with the status quo and passionate to take it into our own hands to leap ahead. We are obsessively striving towards perfection, but we continuously fall short of it. We give our very best, stretch to our very limits, trying to live up to our ever growing expectations and our sense of responsibility. We are our own harshest critic, driving us to improve.
Re-examine everything
Re-examine everything
We trust our intuition and balance it with accurate reasoning based on fundamental principles. We come up with innovative solutions (not just for our products) that fit ONI and our mission, instead of blindly following the usual way of doing things. Assumptions, processes, decisions, rules and these values are open to be challenged and continuously adapted.
Good conscience
Good conscience
We are acutely aware that we are borrowing significant resources from our team members, people and organizations which have invested in us, and the environment. We must use this loan conscientiously and make good on this debt by delivering amazing outcomes. We must always adhere to our own principles in the pursuit of our mission.
Recognize potential in all forms
Recognize potential in all forms
We take chances on people who are inexperienced but full of raw potential. We are mindful that talent can come in many forms and it is one of our most important jobs to recognize it.
Maximize long-term impact
Maximize long-term impact
We are on a long journey to fulfil our mission. Making decisions that benefit our mission on the long term is more important than caring about our short-term success.
