# Ben Casavant

> Ben Casavant is a Seattle-based biomedical engineer, co-founder and CEO of Tasso, a company developing self-administered blood-collection devices and the logistics that carry samples from homes to laboratories. The idea grew from doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a lasting encounter with a rural study participant who could not easily return to a clinic. Casavant and co-founder Erwin Berthier turned that access problem into a company whose devices have secured U.S., European, Canadian and Japanese regulatory clearances and are used in clinical research, remote testing and anti-doping programs.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Tasso, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Tasso, Inc., Tasso-SNBL, Ltd.
- **Education:** BS in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, PhD in Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- **Known for:** Co-founded Tasso and led its development from university-lab work into a commercial blood-collection and sample-logistics company., Led a $100 million Series B financing in December 2021; Tasso reported $131 million in total funding at that point., Oversaw the Tasso+ device's FDA 510(k) Class II clearance in 2022 and subsequent international regulatory expansion.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Earned a BS in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
- **2009-2013** — Completed doctoral work in biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Professor David Beebe's lab, collaborating on microfluidics and cancer-diagnostic research.
- **2011-2012** — Began building Tasso with fellow Wisconsin biomedical-engineering PhD Erwin Berthier; public sources differ on whether the formal founding year is 2011 or 2012.
- **2013** — Completed his PhD and co-authored research including work on suspended microfluidics and rare-cell diagnostic analysis.
- **2014** — Served as principal investigator on a federal SBIR award supporting a self-administered blood-collection and sample-preparation device.
- **2017** — Tasso and partners announced a DTRA-backed program to develop a universal surveillance platform for infectious-disease outbreaks.
- **2020** — Tasso raised a $17 million Series A as demand increased for remote collection and testing.
- **2021** — Led Tasso through a $100 million Series B, bringing the company's reported funding total at the time to $131 million.
- **2022** — Tasso+ received FDA 510(k) Class II clearance as a single-use blood lancet.
- **2023** — Tasso+ received CE Mark certification, extending the company's regulatory reach in Europe.
- **2024** — Received the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering Early Career Award and was included among PharmaVoice's clinical-trial leaders.
- **2025** — Tasso formed a Japanese joint venture with Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories; the venture's collection kit later received Japanese controlled-medical-device certification.
- **2026** — Tasso reported support for customers in more than 60 countries; Casavant was selected as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Mountain West finalist.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Tasso and led its development from university-lab work into a commercial blood-collection and sample-logistics company.
- Led a $100 million Series B financing in December 2021; Tasso reported $131 million in total funding at that point.
- Oversaw the Tasso+ device's FDA 510(k) Class II clearance in 2022 and subsequent international regulatory expansion.
- Named a 2024 Early Career Award recipient by the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering.
- Recognized among the 2024 PharmaVoice clinical-trial professionals.
- Selected as a 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Mountain West finalist.
- Credited by Tasso as an author of more than 27 publications and an inventor on 25 patent applications.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Selected as one of 40 finalists for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Mountain West Award.
- **2026-03** — Tasso and the Parkinson's Foundation reported that PD GENEration had enrolled more than 30,000 participants.
- **2026-02** — Tasso and InnoVero announced deployment of their blood-collection system for anti-doping work at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
- **2025-09** — Tasso's Japanese joint venture received controlled-medical-device approval for the TS Blood Collection Kit.
- **2025-07** — Appeared on Healthcare Unfiltered to discuss Tasso's development, regulatory path, customer base and sample-logistics model.

## Links

- Website: https://www.tassoinc.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-casavant
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/TassoInc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrBd8nyUuHM
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teamtasso/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-casavant
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27