Volta Blog

AGBT 2025 General Meeting

February 19, 2025

Meet Callisto and the Volta Team at AGBT 2025

Meet Callisto and the Volta team in Lanai Suite 192

Volta Labs is bringing the apps revolution to genomics with true, walk-away sample prep automation. 

The Callisto™ Sample Prep System uses advanced electrowetting technology to solve one of the toughest challenges facing the genomics industry - scalable sample prep.

Callisto consists of a benchtop instrument with a suite of preloaded apps capable of performing nucleic acid extraction, long- and short-read library prep, and targeted enrichment on a single platform. Callisto requires no specialized skills or infrastructure to operate, giving labs operator flexibility and up to 5+ hours of walk-away time.

  • Preloaded apps ready to run day one - no method development required
  • Reduces hands-on time with true, walk-away automation
  • Delivers high-quality NGS output equal to or better than manual workflows
  • Shortens time to data with batch-level flexibility, up to 24 reactions per run
  • Operates without requiring a dedicated user or highly skilled operator

What's happening in Lanai Suite 192 at AGBT?

The genomics landscape is evolving rapidly—but it all starts with how we prepare samples. Volta Labs is delivering on the promise of improving sequencing results, reducing cost and providing ease of use, unlocking new possibilities for innovation. At AGBT 2025, Udayan (Founder & CEO) and Abdul (Founding Scientist & Head of Product) will share an exclusive look at:

  • How customers are using Callisto to prepare high-quality samples for Illumina and PacBio sequencing, plus early feedback from field deployments
  • The latest technology advancements powering Callisto
  • Our strategic focus for 2025—and unveiling the App Roadmap on RNA and single-cell preps

We believe genomics is shifting from bespoke, slow-moving workflows to an app-driven ecosystem. Let’s build this future together. Join us in Lanai Suite 192 for the conversation!

Bringing the Apps Revolution to Genomics: 2025 Update
Join us in Lanai Suite 192 as Volta unveils the 2025 App Roadmap!

UMC Utrecht, one of the leading public healthcare institutions in the Netherlands, has selected Callisto to enable their shift from WES to WGS to support a rapid increase in genetic testing. Bert van der Zwaag, Laboratory Specialist of Clinical Genetics at UMC, will share data for the first time showing how Callisto's advanced technology will enable UMC to process thousands of samples annually with both speed and precision.

Callisto Advances WGS at UMC Utrecht Genome Diagnostics

Join Nick Downey (NGS Collaborations Lead) from IDT and Abdul Mohammed (Founding Scientist and Head of Product) at Volta Labs as they discuss performance data from Volta's IDT xGen™ NGS Hybridization Capture app on the Callisto Sample Prep System and how Callisto addresses existing challenges to offer an innovative and reliable solution for automating hybridization capture workflows.

Plug.Play.Hyb: The easy path to quality IDT capture
RSVP for this talk to learn how to automate hybridization capture workflows with Callisto

Schedule a demo of the Callisto Sample Prep System
Book time to see Callisto live at AGBT!

Check out the Volta Labs data on display at AGBT

Poster #401: Bridging the gap in high-molecular weight DNA extraction: Scalable automation using digital fluidics

When: February 24, 1:30-3:30pm

Where: JW Marriott, Calusa Ballroom 8-12

Presenter: Nayan Agarwal

Don't miss this poster presentation - learn how labs can go from samples to long-read libraries in 24 hours

Introducing VoltaHyb:  
Automating the Last Mile of Targeted Sequencing Workflows

The Volta Labs team is revolutionizing critical targeted sequencing workflows with the introduction of the VoltaHyb™ suite of Apps and kits for the Callisto™ Sample Prep System. Designed to enrich your targets with confidence every single time, the Callisto platform brings unmatched workflow simplicity to hybridization capture. With Callisto, users no longer need to rely on multiple lab instruments (heated blocks, magnetic racks, vortexers) or perform time-sensitive heated transfer steps - such complex steps are abstracted away from the end user. Furthermore, Callisto's unique architecture enables precise magnetic bead manipulation coupled with uninterrupted and uniform temperature control during the hybrid capture enabling consistent enrichment performance. 

For a customer processing 100,000 exome samples annually, each 1% decrease in redo rates can save over $500,000

Callisto reduces sequencing redo rates to less than 3% while minimizing sample loss throughout the capture process. This breakthrough approach enables reliable targeted sequencing even for challenging applications where conventional tools struggle. These advantages extend across both long and short read-based hybrid capture workflows.

The scalable architecture of the Callisto system enables flexible throughput, with the capacity to process up to 96,000 exomes per year or 48,000 PacBio HiFi samples annually. Whether you're running a small research lab or a high-volume testing facility, Callisto adapts to your needs with flexible batch sizes and consistent performance.

Key Benefits  
of VoltaHyb for Hybridization Capture:

  • Reduced Sequencing Costs:
    Lower sample preparation and sequencing costs  by minimizing reruns (<3% redo rates). 

  • Fully Automated Workflow:
    Enables complete walk-away automation for hybridization, capture, washes, and PCR setup

  • Broad Panel Compatibility:
    Works with panels of all sizes, from small targeted panels to comprehensive exomes

  • Support for Both Short and Long Read Applications:
    Optimized protocols for both Illumina-style short-read sequencing and long-read technologies like PacBio and Oxford Nanopore

  • Consistent Results:
    Dramatically reduced inter-operator variability and robust performance across repeated runs

  • Uniform Coverage:
    Even coverage across challenging regions, including high-GC content areas

  • Maximum Throughput: Process up to 480 exomes simultaneously with pooled libraries with flexible batching

VoltaHyb’s Expanding App Menu

At Volta, we’re continually growing our support for hybrid capture workflows across both short- and long-read sequencing platforms.

On the short-read side, Callisto currently supports IDT xGEN v2 chemistry, as well as Twist’s standard v2 and Fast chemistries. For long-read applications, we support PacBio HiFi enrichment based on Twist’s standard v2 chemistry.

There are more Apps coming to the VoltaHyb menu, and we’re always listening to our users. If there’s a hybrid capture chemistry you’d like to see automated on Callisto, let us know—we’d love to hear from you.

Hybridization Capture
for Twist, v2 standard
(Coming Soon!)
Hybridization Capture for PacBio, v2 standard
(Coming Soon!)

Join the Future of Targeted Sequencing

get in touch

The revolution in genomic sample preparation is here. By bringing the push-button experience of a sequencer to targeted sequencing workflows, Volta Labs is transforming how laboratories approach hybridization capture. The choice is no longer between inconsistent manual methods and complex automation platforms that require dedicated engineering resources. With Callisto and VoltaHyb, you can achieve consistent, high-quality results without specialized training or extensive method development.

Ready to experience the difference? Contact our team today to learn how the VoltaHyb powered Hybridization Capture can enhance your targeted sequencing workflows and accelerate your discoveries.

Volta Labs is a genomics applications company transforming the way biological research and analyses are performed, allowing scientists to focus on what they do best—pushing the boundaries of biology.
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