8 innovative startups compete at Founder Institute’s Connect: Healthtech & Wellness event

As we pass the one-year marker since the onset of the most destructive health crisis the world has seen in over 100 years, startups from around the globe have come together in the fight against COVID-19. From robots that help clean hospital floors, to low-cost ventilators in countries with sparse supplies, startups have truly impacted how global society has responded to the outbreak. 

With vaccines becoming more widely available, lockdowns loosening, and an end to the pandemic inching closer, the world is left with a new set of challenges in healthcare and overall wellness. The pandemic laid bare the reality that humans in societies with poor healthcare and dietary and exercise habits are more at risk. And the next phase of healthcare innovation must take place now in order to leave us all better prepared for the subsequent disease outbreak that is sure to come. 

Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, helps to scale healthtech and wellness startups within its portfolio. In a recent blog post, the company pointed out that with COVID-19 on everyone’s minds, the health space has grabbed our attention like never before. 

According to the accelerator, “opportunities abound to create health solutions and systems that will deliver better care, greater preparedness, and more equitable delivery of best-in-class life-saving services.” 

On April 22, the accelerator will co-host an event with Publicize, a PR firm for growth, that will feature eight of the most promising early stage healthtech and wellness startups as they pitch their ideas to a panel of distinguished media judges. 

Connect: Healthech & Wellness is an opportunity for imaginative companies to showcase their work and gain valuable feedback from a host of the top journalists that cover science, technology and startups from publications like VentureBeat, Crunchbase, Sifted from the Financial Times and more. 

The competition will also feature an open Q&A session between audience members and the media judges, and entrepreneurs and innovators are encouraged to register for free here to participate. 

Connect: Healthech & Wellness will feature a number of startups from the Founder Institute portfolio that focus on innovating solutions to the world’s healthcare dilemmas: 

Endiatx, represented at the event by Torrey Smith, is a company developing pill-sized robots to perform remote diagnosis of illness within the GI tract, followed by moving into treatments beginning with biopsy, cauterization of bleeds, and removal of polyps. The company aims to cut the cost of expensive endoscopies, a process that inserts a camera directly into the GI tract and requires in-person medical visits. 

Ellerca Health, represented by Daniel Yeboah, is a digital health startup that integrates mobile technology, real human interaction, artificial intelligence, and behavioral science to revolutionize the personal experience and health outcomes of people living with chronic disease. Last August, the company launched 360Care, “a fully integrated virtual care and support platform for diabetes.”

Resistomap, represented by Windi Muziasari, is a company aiming to mitigate the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. It offers a complete laboratory and analysis service to detect and quantify antibiotic resistance genes in environments such as surface water, waste water, soil, sediment, and stool using the combination of SmartChip qPCR system and data science.

SolverGen, represented by Jane Sun, is a company that has built a platform that empowers biomedical scientists to analyze any biomedical data using machine learning to produce insights and develop  biomarkers, signatures, new drugs and therapies. The company has collaborations with both the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

KangarooHealth, represented by Xiaoxu Kang, is a company innovating in proactive remote patient monitoring. They recently developed an intelligent remote patient monitoring platform for coronavirus monitoring and care triage that tracks patients’ vitals and symptoms daily and automatically flags those patients with warning signs.

KnowRX, represented by David Franklin, has built a mobile application that allows doctors and patients to easily and efficiently manage medication treatments. The app “schedules, monitors, and provides information and feedback on drug usage”, including both prescriptions and over the counter drugs, for consumers and designated medical contacts. 

CircaGene, represented by Francois Paillier, provides world-class genomics and bioInformatics services to protect and improve public health both at population and individual levels. They provide hyper-personalised genetic analysis to people, empowering them to proactively manage their health, and make informed decisions about their lifestyle with accurate and scientifically validated information. 

LearnCdo, represented by Jason Merrick, has created a telehealth platform for parents, grandparents and carers to get 24/7 advice from over 1,000 qualified telecare and telehealth experts. The platform is HIPPA compliant and allows for video consultations as well as a pay as you go business model. 

In addition to the startups, Founder Institute co-founder Jonathan Greechan will also address the panelists and audience. As part of its Impact initiative, the accelerator recently released a series of guidelines for healthtech startups (as well as startups in other industries) to measure KPIs that help companies work toward UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

If you’d like to attend Connect: Healthtech & Wellness, you’re encouraged to register for free on Eventbrite here. 

Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.