Karl Kilborn and Colin Monks founded
Intelligent Imaging Innovations (3i) in 1995. The
TAXI-based company supplies academic and research organizations with customized microscope systems, including both hardware and software.
"Image acquisition is the main goal," says Dermot Monks (Colin's nephew). "We're a small software firm but our global reach is pretty huge. We have engineers working on newer, smaller, faster equipment."
Dermot says about 65 percent of the company's business is academic-related, including local clients in the
University of Denver and
University of Colorado. Other customers include the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies. Sales are up in 2013, says Dermot, as the research community comes out of a slump.
3i's systems are used in cutting-edge projects of all kinds. "Optogenetics is a new hot field right now," explains Dermot. "It's trying to understand the brain and see the electric firing of neurons in it."
Live cell imaging is another 3i specialty. The company's enclosures keep cells alive in a warm, dark environment so they can be studied while alive, Dermot says. "We use a lot of lasers to see how they are repairing themselves -- or not."
Of 3i's 21 employees, 10 are based at the headquarters in Denver. The company also has a software office in Santa Monica, California, and an office on Germany. The company is hiring in Europe and for U.S.-based field engineers who could be based from Denver or elsewhere.
Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Eric Peterson with tips and leads for future stories at eric@confluence-denver.com.
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