LabVantage introduced its new agentic AI platform, LabVantage CORTEX, during Pittcon 2026, aiming to enhance laboratory workflows by connecting data across systems and supporting both storage and analysis. Gary Stimson, Head of AI Technologies at LabVantage, discussed the platform’s capabilities in an interview with News-Medical on July 3.
Stimson said LabVantage CORTEX acts as an operating system for laboratories: "Not only do we store your data, but we can also analyze and process your data and work with you to power your laboratory." He described a step-by-step approach to integrating AI into labs, beginning with user interface prompts that reduce errors and progressing toward autonomous agents handling routine data tasks. "The first agents that we’re releasing into our product will help scientists use the user interface more efficiently... It’ll just prompt them to say, 'Are you sure you want that date?' I think that makes it more efficient and less error-prone," Stimson said.
The company has implemented this technology internally over the past year. Stimson said employees have used it for summarizing emails and meeting notes: "It’s made us able to focus on the job at hand rather than the mundane tasks." He added that trust in technology is essential for broader adoption, "Even though driverless cars have been here for nearly a decade, it’s only now that we’re starting to see them really adopted in cities. I think it’s the same thing here: it comes down to trust in the technology."
Stimson explained how LabVantage CORTEX addresses challenges faced by institutions such as hospitals with multiple laboratories using different systems. By leveraging plugins like BioTech360, he said their system can pull together siloed patient data through a chatbot interface without requiring additional foundational changes from users.
He projected gradual adoption of these technologies: "At first, people will adopt this technology to make them more efficient at their jobs, but I believe over the next five to 10 years, we’ll have more autonomy in laboratories... You’ll be able to focus on the work, and you’ll have a digital version of yourself to help process the mundane tasks."
