Accelerate Fund III invests in True Angle health-at-home technology for people living with swallowing disorders
Edmonton, AB, June 1, 2021 – Accelerate Fund III has invested in True Angle and their pocket-sized, Mobili-T® Swallowing Exercise Device which guides and monitors at-home treatment for people with dysphagia, sharing information with clinicians, and connecting patients in an online community. True Angle closed the oversubscribed $1.64M funding round led by Accelerate Fund III, with additional participation from The51, WATCT, Startup TNT, Thin Air Labs, Aeonian and Birchcliff Partners.
Prior to the development of the Mobili-T® under-the-chin sensor, people with health swallowing disorders were required to go to clinics to access exercise monitoring equipment, often taking hours out of their day, and posing an obstacle to positive health outcomes. With True Angle’s technology and community, people are more likely to perform daily exercises, which has been shown to affect the ability to eat meals and swallow without coughing or distress.
True Angle was founded by Dr. Jana Rieger, a professor, clinician and researcher who began development of Mobili-T® at her lab at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She then brought in Gabriela Constantinescu and Dylan Scott as co-founders to bring the technology to the mass market.
“Our clinical experience with people with swallowing disorders showed us that coming into the clinic is costly, takes hours of their day, and involves a lot of waiting,” said Dr. Jana Rieger CEO True Angle. “We desperately wanted to give our patients a more convenient exercise option, and wanted a way for clinicians to support more positive health outcomes. So we developed a device and app that allows patients to practice their swallowing exercises anytime, and on the go.”
“We’re thrilled to be investing in True Angle and their promising health at home technology,” commented Arden Tse Investment Manager for Accelerate Fund III. “The team has demonstrated they can bring medical products to market on time and on budget, and we’re excited about what other applications may be possible with their proprietary sensor fabrics and skills at microsizing health devices.”
Traditionally, health device technology has required a very long, capital-intense research and development period prior to taking a product to market. The new wave of direct-to-consumer devices, like Mobili-T®, delivers early revenue rapidly opening up new possibilities for Accelerate Fund III to participate in health at home innovation.
True Angle will use the proceeds from the investment to grow the team, deepen knowledge on customer needs and improve product and market fit.
About True Angle
True Angle’s mission is to improve lives through smarter technology, meaningful connections, and personal health insights. Our first step in that mission is to help people living with swallowing disorders break perceived barriers. To do that, True Angle took a costly, inconvenient, and inaccessible clinical intervention that is used to provide biofeedback on swallowing exercises, and created an affordable, convenient, data-driven health@home technology. The Mobili-T consists of a small wireless sensor that is supported by “smart” software that provides custom exercise targets and feedback, as well as daily adherence tracking, all of which can be shared with a clinician. This pocket-sized technology is empowering people to take charge of their health and find joy in the life they are living. www.trueanglemedical.com.
About Accelerate Fund III
Accelerate Fund III is an early-stage angel co-investment fund in Alberta. We co-invest alongside angel investors in financing rounds and will typically invest up to $500,000 on the same terms and conditions as private investors. We work with formal angel groups, super-angels, family funds, and individual angel investors. Accelerate Fund III invests in private, early-stage Alberta companies in knowledge-based industries including: information and communications technology, energy technology, as well as life sciences, including agriculture and biotech. Accelerate Fund III is managed by Yaletown Partners with the support of The A100. Alberta Enterprise Corporation is Accelerate Fund III’s lead Limited Partner. www.acceleratefund.ca.
Media Inquiries:
Accelerate Fund III
Claudia Moore
Material Insight
403.703.0029
Claudia @ materialinsight.com