MATTER startup shoutouts: Fall 2023

Every day, innovators across the MATTER community are building new solutions that accelerate innovation, advance care and improve lives. Over the last three months, startups completed raises, fostered impactful partnerships and much more.

There’s no shortage of good news to celebrate in the MATTER community. Learn more about our collective accomplishments below.

Seven MATTER startups received strategic investments or completed raises.

AMOpportunities raised $2M to accelerate the company’s growth.
AMOpportunities raised an additional $2 million to its Series A2 with funding from new investor the Laerdal Million Lives Fund as well as return investors PACE Healthcare Capital, OCA Ventures and HealthX Ventures. They will use the additional funding to continue to expand their network of clinical partners across the U.S.

Cerebra Health, Careteam Technologies and Zinnia Technologies received investment from the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation.
Cerebra Health, Careteam Technologies and Zinnia Technologies each received a $400,000 investment from the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation’s Mentorship, Capital and Continuation program. The funding will support the companies’ innovations aimed at improving the quality of life for older adults, people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Hubly Surgical raised $3M to bring their solution to market.
Hubly Surgical, a leader in neurosurgical innovation, raised an oversubscribed $3 million seed round from previous investors, neurosurgeons and physician-centric funds. The investment comes after the company received FDA clearance for their solution, the Hubly Drill, and announced positive results from their first peer-reviewed study on the safety and efficacy of the drill.

inclusive+ founders received funding through the Polsky Founders’ Fund Fellowship.
Anna Jacobs and Lori Ebenstein, co-founders of inclusive+, were named recipients of the 2023 Polsky Founders’ Fund Fellowship. They both will receive $24,000 in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity in order to work on their venture full time. inclusive+ is a network of providers committed to culturally and medically competent LGBTQIA+ care.

Partum Health raised $3.1M to expand access to pregnancy and postpartum care services.
Partum Health, a maternal health startup, raised a $3.1 million seed round led by True Wealth Ventures with participation from The Fund Midwest, Tawani Ventures, Bridge Ventures, Pioneer Healthcare Partners and the MAGIC Fund. They will use the funds to expand their pregnancy and support services including lactation support, physical therapy, mental health services, nutrition counseling and doula care, while continuing to build relationships with insurance providers.

Pelvital raised $2.68M to accelerate commercialization of their product, Flyte.
Pelvital raised a $2.68 million seed round led by Boomerang Ventures with participation from VisionTech Partners, Wisconsin Investment Partners and Edward Bergmark, PhD, founder and former CEO of Optum. They will use the funding to complete the development of Flyte and accelerate commercialization. Flyte is an FDA-approved, at-home intravaginal device that delivers mechanotherapy, a proven treatment modality that rapidly and effectively strengthens pelvic floor muscles.

Vivante Health raised a $31M Series B to drive their growth.
Vivante Health, the leader in digital digestive health, raised a $31 million Series B led by Mercato Partners, with participation from Health Catalyst Capital, 7wireVentures, Intermountain Ventures, Distributed Ventures, Human Capital and SemperVirens. Vivante Health will use the funding to support continued technology upgrades designed to predict the onset and progression of gastrointestinal conditions and provide complete virtual care for digestive disorders. It will also be applied to ongoing expansion of the company’s commercial and client support teams.

Ten MATTER startups secured impactful partnerships to help expand and scale their businesses.

Augintel announced two partnerships to bring their natural language processing platform to market.
Augintel announced partnerships with The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Washington County, Pennsylvania. For both partnerships, Augintel will deliver their natural language processing platform to help child welfare caseworkers uncover critical information buried within narrative data such as case notes and gain insights needed to make informed decisions throughout the life of a case.

Carium partnered with Iron Bow Healthcare Solutions to provide remote patient monitoring services.
Carium partnered with Iron Bow Healthcare Solutions to provide a suite of RPM solutions to Iron Bow’s clients, including real-time data monitoring, patient empowerment, seamless communication and more. Iron Bow is the leading technology solutions provider to government, commercial and healthcare markets.

CareValidate partnered with Global Disability Inclusion to enhance accessibility and inclusive practices.
CareValidate, a leading provider of innovative HR software solutions, partnered with Global Disability Inclusion, a renowned organization dedicated to advancing disability inclusion worldwide. The two organizations will leverage their expertise and resources to foster accessibility and promote inclusive practices in all industry segments, ultimately improving the workplace and engagement for individuals with disabilities.

Clearstep partnered with Mount Sinai Health System to provide enhanced and improved access to care.
Clearstep partnered with Mount Sinai to introduce an expanded range of digital tools to enhance and improve access to care. Mount Sinai will utilize Clearstep’s virtual triage technology including real-time assessments, medical resource optimization and an enhanced patient experience to continuously enhance their virtual triage capabilities.

Elsa Science partnered with Amicus Arthritis to advance rheumatologic care.
Elsa Science partnered with Amicus Arthritis, a progressive rheumatology clinic, to advance rheumatologic care. Amicus Arthritis will leverage Elsa Science’s remote therapeutic monitoring solution to engage with patients and translate their condition-specific data into actionable decision support.

Junum partnered with Ochsner Health to address malnutrition.
Junum, an innovative digital health company, partnered with Ochsner Health, an integrated healthcare system to integrate Junum’s MalnutritionCDS™ clinical decision support solution with Ochsner Epic EHR. The integration will help Ochsner’s clinicians identify and diagnose malnutrition within their existing workflows for better patient care.

Libbie Health partnered with e-Lovu Health to support maternal mental health for women of color.
Libbie Health partnered with e-Lovu Health, a leading digital wellness platform, to provide e-Lovu clients access to Libbie Health’s self-care tools via Libbie’s AI-powered mental wellness companion. Libbie will provide personalized guidance, reminders and check-ins designed to improve mothers’ mental and emotional well-being from pre-conception through postpartum.

Marani Health partnered with UnityPoint Health to address hypertension in people who are pregnant.
Marani Health, an AI-powered remote pregnancy monitoring platform, partnered with UnityPoint Health, a nationally recognized, integrated healthcare system serving more than 8 million patients in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Marani Health will deliver their M•care System, consisting of the M•other App, a cellular-connected weight scale and a cellular-connected blood pressure cuff, to help monitor and manage hypertension in people who are pregnant from the comfort of their homes.

Rezilient Health partnered with Excel Health Plans to maximize health plan benefits.
Rezilient Health, a leading tech-enabled primary care company, partnered with Excel Health Plan, a multi-state managed care organization for employers. The partnership will bring Rezilient Health’s comprehensive suite of services including personalized primary care, care coordination, health education resources and enhanced network access to Excel Health Plan’s clients.

TimeDoc Health partnered with Valley-Wide Health Systems to deliver a chronic care management solution.
TimeDoc Health partnered with Valley-Wide Health Systems. TimeDoc Health will launch and manage a chronic care management program that will serve people from 19 counties across rural Colorado. TimeDoc Health has supported Valley-Wide with four care coordinators and plans to add more staffing resources in the coming months as enrollment grows. The care coordinators are trained nurses and bilingual to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking populations, a key demographic in Colorado.

Seven MATTER startups reached key milestones to advance their businesses.

Acorai received a Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA.
Acorai, a medical device manufacturer from Sweden, received a Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for their heart monitor device. The device provides a non-invasive estimation of diastolic pulmonary artery pressure, systolic pulmonary artery pressure and mean pulmonary artery pressure in patients with Stage C heart failure who have been referred for hemodynamic monitoring.

Backpack Healthcare acquired Hurdle Health and SHE Health.
Backpack Healthcare acquired Hurdle Health and SHE Health. The acquisition of Hurdle Health will support Backpack Healthcare’s capabilities in providing culturally intentional, sensitive and inclusive mental healthcare to diverse populations, and the acquisition of SHE Health will provide additional mental and reproductive health resources for teens. Both moves are part of a strategic expansion to provide more opportunities for Backpack Healthcare to help with the mental health crisis in the U.S.

CareAcademy launched its new user experience for Spanish-speaking individuals.
CareAcademy, a leading provider of online professional development for caregivers, launched its new Spanish user experience, providing a fully translated product experience that empowers caregivers to operate seamlessly in their preferred language and learn the skills to improve quality of care.

Liv Labs was named to Springboard Enterprises’ 2023 Digital Health Innovation cohort.
Liv Labs was named to Springboard Enterprises’ 2023 Digital Health Innovation cohort. They will participate in a workshop series, an intensive entrepreneurial bootcamp and will be matched with a team of strategic advisors to help guide them through their next stage of growth.

NovaScan announced a clinical trial for its nsCanary™ device.
NovaScan received institutional review board approval to commence a clinical trial involving lung cancer and the nsCanary™ device. The trial will be conducted at the University of Chicago Medical Center by principal investigator Dr. Kyle Hogarth, MD, FCCP, professor of medicine and director of bronchoscopy at the University of Chicago. The nsCanary™ device is intended to assist physicians making decisions on the presence of cancer in biopsy excisions.

OpenLoop Health’s headquarters was renamed OpenLoop Tower.
OpenLoop Health, a provider of telehealth support services, announced the renaming of its downtown Des Moines headquarters from the Bank of America Building to OpenLoop Tower. The new space will help facilitate OpenLoop Health’s anticipated growth and they aim to add 400 new jobs to its Iowa-based team over the next three years.

Somnea Health CEO was named a 2023 RockHealth.org Innovation Fellow.
James Waring, founder of Somnea Health, was selected as a 2023 RockHealth.org Innovation Fellow. As a fellow, he will gain exposure to the broader digital health ecosystem, insights on industry trends and opportunities to engage with the broader RockHealth.org community.

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