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14-Year-Old Innovator Develops Heat-Detection Camera, Secures Major Funding

10/3/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Shanya Gill, 14, founded Vigil Inc. after a fire near her San Jose, California home.
She developed a thermal camera that detects unattended heat sources with 97% accuracy.
Gill won $25,000 at the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge and targets late-2025 mass production.
After Microsoft’s canceled program, she secured funding from Amazon and Google.

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Story summary

Shanya Gill, 14, founded Vigil Inc. after a fire near her San Jose, California home.
She developed a thermal camera that detects unattended heat sources with 97% accuracy.
Gill won $25,000 at the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge and targets late-2025 mass production.
After Microsoft’s canceled program, she secured funding from Amazon and Google.