A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
- AWAK Technologies, a Singapore-based startup that makes wearable dialysis device, raised $11.2M from Accuron MedTech. Link
- Ava, a startup has developed a wearable fertility tracking device for women, has raised $9.7M in, a Series A round. Link
- Wearhaus, a startup that has developed headphones which allow the user to sync music with friends, raises $4M in Series A funding. Link
- CarePredict, a startup that has developed a monitoring solution using a wearable device for elderly people has raised $2.5M in a new round of funding. Link
- Kinematix, a company which has developed a wearable sensor to analyse running technique, has raised $2.2M from Portugal Ventures. Link
- Fitbit buys software assets of Pebble, a company that was developing smartwatches. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Vue (2016, SF) – Developed smart connected glasses with fitness tracking and notification alert feature. The device uses bone conduction technology to stream music from user’s phone.
BioMindR (2016, Montreal) – Developed biosensors using RF technology for measuring hydration, heart rate, glucose etc. The sensors can be integrated with textiles or used in other wearable devices.
LEADER BOARD – WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
Fitness
Jawbone (1999, SF, $1B) – Fitness wristbands with an algorithm for tracking steps, logging runs and measure sleep. Backed by Khosla Ventures, JP Morgan, Andreessen Horowitz.
Fitbit (2007, SF, IPO) – Wireless wearable fitness trackers to track person’s activities. Went public in 2015. Backed by True Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Softbank.
Codoon (2011, Chengdu, $90M) – Smart Wearables and fitness social network for users. Backed by Fountain Investment, Focus Media, SB China Capital, Susquehanna International Group, Shenzhen Capital Group & Citic Capital.
Athos (2012, Redwood City, $51M) – Developer of smart fitness apparel. Backed by Social Capital, True Ventures, DCM, MAS Holdings.
Smart Watches
Basis (2010, SF, $32M, Acq) – Fitness wristbands with an algorithm for tracking steps, logging runs and measure sleep. Acquired by Intel in March 2014.
Pebble (2009, Palo Alto, $15M, Acq.) – Smart internet-connected watch with apps. Acquired by Fitbit in Dec 2016.
Vector Watch (2014, London, $12M) – Smart connected watches with traditional analogue watch look. Backed by 3TS Capital Partners, GECAD.
Wellness Devices
Chrono Therapeutics (2004, Waltham, $78M) – Providing trans-dermal drug delivery by adjusting the amount of nicotine. Backed by Canaan Partners, Mayo Clinic, Rock Health, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Endeavour Vision, 5AM Ventures, Emergent Medical Partners, NCI, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Mission Bay Capital, GE Ventures, Labuan IBFC, Cota Capital, Xeraya Capital, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Hikma Ventures
MUSE (2009, Toronto, $18M) – Headband developed by Interaxon that helps in relaxing the brain. Backed by Felicis Ventures, ff Venture Capital, Horizons Ventures, A-Grade Investments, OMERS Ventures, Build Ventures, Mindfull Investors.
SwipeSense (2012, Evanston, $16.4M) – Connected hand hygiene system with a wearable device. Backed by Pritzker Group, OCA Ventures, Healthbox, Texo Ventures, New Ground Ventures, Jumpstart Ventures, Eclipse VC.
Healthcare
Senseonics (1996, Germantown, $124M) – Making Continuous Glucose Monitoring devices using proprietary technology. Backed by Delphi Ventures
iRhythm Technologies (2006, SF, $96M) – Providing solutions for Cardiac arrhythmias with a huge database for heartbeat analysis. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures.
MC10 (2008, Cambridge, $61M) – Miniaturised embedded sensors for remote patient monitoring, wellness, cosmetics, industrial and defence purposes. Backed by North Bridge Venture Partners, Medtronic.
Scanadu (2011, Mountain View, $47M) – All-in-one device measuring temperature, B.P., Heart Rate, HRV, ECG, Oximetry, protein, leukocytes, nitrates concentration. Backed by Tencent, Relay Ventures.
Echo Therapeutics (1989,Franklin, IPO) – Provides a glucose sensor for continuous and non-invasive glucose monitoring. Went public in 2011.
Safety and Tracking
Tile (2012, San Mateo, $34M) – Tags to locate and track items. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, GGV Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, Tandem, Tencent.
Pixie Technology (2011, Herzliya, $27M) – Connected tags for locating and tracking objects. Backed by OurCrowd, Spark Capital, Cedar Fund.
Sports
Whoop (2012, Boston, $24M) – Wearable activity tracker for athletes and trainers. Backed by Infosys, Founder Collective, Promus Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Resolute Ventures, Next View Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Valley Oak Investments, Accomplice, Atlas Venture.
Zepp Labs (2011, San Jose, $20M) – Devices with sensors to track and analyse the hand or body movement while training for various sports. Backed by GGV Capital, Legend Capital, Unity Ventures, Bertelsmann Asia Investment Fund, The Arena Capital.
Controller
Nod (2013, Mountain View, $16M) – Makes gesture recognition and motion tracking hardware.Backed by Nautilus Ventures, Point guard Ventures and Atlantic Bridge Capital.
Petcare
Whistle (2012, SF, $21M, Acq.) – Intelligent monitoring system for dogs. Acquired by Mars in Feb 2016.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount
For latest updates visit Wearable Technology feed.