The funding round for iWEECARE was led by TransLink Capital. Other investors that participated in the funding round include Taiwan’s National Development Fund, BE Capital, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology Corp (TSMT), NCTU Angel Club, Might Electronic, and existing investors Verge HealthTech Fund and Darwin Venture.

It is reported that iWEECARE’s flagship product Temp Pal, which is a remote wearable thermometer initially developed to assist in pregnancy planning and baby care, has received medical certification in Europe, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.

According to the company, it will use the funds to accelerate marketing activities to address the demand for remote patient monitoring technologies in the US and China.

Glen Tseng, co-founder and chief operating officer at  iWEECARE told the media,  “Temp Pal received an overwhelming amount of inquiries for coronavirus use from the US and China earlier this year. The new funding will be used in accelerating our global footprint to satisfy the demands from these markets and ultimately improve patient safety and outcomes.”

Jackie Yang, co-founder at TransLink Capital said that the Covid-19 pandemic and shift to remote patient monitoring has led to a huge potential for iWEECARE to expand globally.

Arthur Chen, executive director of BE Capital at Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA), a healthcare-focused venture capital firm in Taiwan, said that they received positive feedback from clinicians of Show Chwan Memorial Hospital and are confident that Temp Pal can be a world-class product.

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The funding round for Gero was led by venture capital firm Bulba Ventures.

Other existing investors of Gero also participated in its funding round.

The deal will see co-founder of Bulba Ventures Yury Melnichek joined Gero’s Board of Directors.

Gero’s founder Peter Fedichev said in the statement, “We are happy with the recognition and support from these strategic investors who themselves are acknowledged leaders in the fields of AI and biotechnology. This will help us attain the necessary knowledge at the junction of biological sciences and AI/ML technologies that is necessary for the radical acceleration of drug discovery.”

“We hope that the technology will soon lead to a meaningful healthspan extension and quality of life improvement,” he added.

The Singapore-based startup, which develops new drugs to combat aging and other disorders, has raised around $7.5 million in funding so far.

According to Gero, it will use the latest funds to further develop its AI platform for analysing clinical and genetic data to find treatments for “complicated” diseases, such as age-related chronic illnesses, mental illnesses and others.

Last month, Singapore-based healthtech startup Plano announced a strategic alliance with Japan’s Santen Pharmaceuticals, to tackle myopia.

Myopia is one of the most common health problems in the world, affecting an estimated 2 billion people, or about 28 percent of the world’s population. The number of people with myopia is expected to increase to 5 billion by the year 2050, which is about half of the world’s population.

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Other investors that participated in the funding round for Deep01 include BE Capital and Digital Economy Fund, co-funded by the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Institute for Information Industry.

The startup develops artificial intelligence (AI) software designed to help physicians interpret computerized tomography (CT) images of the brain.

According to Deep01, its product can detect acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) – a type of stroke – for accident and emergency (A&E) departments with an accuracy of 93 percent to 95 percent at 30 seconds per case.

The startup is also the first AI company in APAC to obtain US-FDA clearances in July 2019.

With regard to the funding in Deep01, Arthur Chen, managing director of BE Capital told the media, “Deep01 is a member of the BE supporting program. The system is in the Show Chwan hospital, and profitable results are already present. The AI emergency network has potential in the overseas markets. We introduced the company to the authorities in Japan, and the integration will proceed in the second half of this year.”

According to Deep01 founder and chief executive officer David Chou, the ICT and healthcare industries in Taiwan are competitive on the international stage, and successful cases of commercialisation will make Deep01’s product more feasible in the global market.

Reportedly, Deep01 also received Taiwan’s FDA clearance for its AI product of ICH in February 2020 and received its first purchase order of $0.7 million.

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The startup has developed Spectra IMDx, a system that enables real-time detection of early gastric cancer during endoscopy.

Endofotonics plans to use the funds from its funding round to drive commercialization efforts for its Spectra IMDx and also expand the technology’s cancer-detecting capabilities to other organs.

The company also plans to take its technology to Europe and other countries in Asia by 2021.

Chief executive officer at Endofotonics, Peter Cheng told the media, “Leveraging on Raman spectroscopy, we have developed a platform technology that can be applied to multiple organs, giving clinicians real-time information to make decisions then and there. Not only can this be applied to early cancer detection, it can be further developed to identify safety margins for dissections or resections.”

Endofotonics was founded in 2013 by Lawrence Ho, a senior consultant gastroenterologist with the National University Hospital in Singapore.

The startup secured its  Series A funding in 2016 from Zig Ventures and Enterprise Singapore investment arm Seeds Capital.

Earlier this month, another Singapore-based healthtech startup Holmusk secured around $21.5 million in its Series A funding round.

The funding round for Holmusk was led by Optum Ventures and Health Catalyst Capital and included existing investors Heritas Capital, as well as other individuals.

Reportedly, Dr. Vijay Barathan from Optum Ventures and Charles Boorady from Health Catalyst Capital will join the company’s board of directors.

Homusk will use the funding to invest in the Real-World Evidence platform to accelerate drug development and data-driven medicine.

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The funding round for Holmusk was led by Optum Ventures and Health Catalyst Capital and included existing investors Heritas Capital, as well as other individuals.

Reportedly, Dr. Vijay Barathan from Optum Ventures and Charles Boorady from Health Catalyst Capital will join the company’s board of directors.

Homusk will use the funding to invest in the Real-World Evidence platform to accelerate drug development and data-driven medicine.

Nawal Roy, Holmusk’s founder and chief executive officer told the media, “In situations like today, the need for Real-World Evidence is more pronounced than ever. We are fortunate to bring on partners like Optum Ventures and Health Catalyst Capital who understand the importance and are excited to join us in our mission to drive evidence-based care.”

According to Holmusk, it is developing a Real-World Evidence platform in behavioral health and chronic diseases to expand data-driven, evidence-based care for people managing behavioral health conditions.

The new funding will also allow Holmusk to expand its operations in the US. The startup currently has offices in Singapore, London, New York, and Shanghai.

So far, the startup has raised a total of $31.3 million in separate funding rounds. In 2018, the startup raised $9.8 million in its seed funding round.

According to media reports, Holmusk signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Janssen Research & Development Centre in 2015, to explore the development of a digital mental health strategy in China.

In 2016, Holmusk bought MindLinc, an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system focused on behavioral health,from Duke University School of Medicine.

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The partnership between BookDoc and WeDoctor will see both parties joining hands to offer non-stop real-time online medical services to fight the novel coronavirus, which has affected around 3.85 million people worldwide and with casualties of around 270,000, as of today.

Both parties will launch the Global Consultation and Prevention Center (GCPC) which supports English-Chinese bilingual languages, and brings together medical resources from different regions under one platform.

In a statement, BookDoc said that the partnership with WeDoctor will see both parties work together to devise strategies to gain competitive advantage to reach out to medical tourists around the globe. The two companies will also leverage their technology, know-how and local knowledge to expand borderless healthcare.

BookDoc founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Chevy Beh said in a statement, “Growth prospects are positive for this sector over the long term, underpinned by demographics transition towards an increasingly globalised, ageing population, rising affluence, increasing life expectancy and a growing upper-middle income population. Southeast Asia’s medical tourism industry will continue to experience rampant growth, post Covid-19 recovery, driven by quality healthcare delivery services, competitive rates, and reputable medical expertise.

“We believe that partnerships will play an important role in achieving development and growth impact, meeting the business needs of a rapidly changing world, while at the same time improving healthcare delivery, delivering high-value care, and making equitable and affordable care a noble purpose.”

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Investors who participated in the funding round for Doctor Anywhere includes Australian venture capital fund Square peg, EDBI – the investment arm of Singaporean government and healthcare group IHH Healthcare.

Other participants in this round of funding are Pavilion Capital and existing shareholder Kamet Capital, bringing Doctor Anywhere’s total capital base to exceed $40 million.

According to founder and chief executive officer Wai Mun Lim, Doctor Anywhere will use the money raised in the latest funding round to expand its presence in Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The telehealth startup will use the funds for its extensive expansion to augment the region’s healthcare landscape through digital transformation, with the support of strong local and regional partners.

The company also plans to double its current workforce of 200 employees across the region over the next couple of years.

Wai Mun Lin told the media, “During a time when public health systems are being stretched, telehealth can play a part in keeping these services from becoming overwhelmed.”

“While Doctor Anywhere has always ensured that we operate with sound unit economics, the Covid-19 situation does reinforce the need for us to continue to use capital wisely and in a sustainable manner, and to ensure that we continue.”

Last year, Doctor Anywhere entered into a partnership with ViettelPay to provide online healthcare services in Vietnam.

During the same period, the telehealth startup also signed an agreement with Vietnam’s Bao Minh insurance, which will provide the insurer’s more than 7 million customers access to Doctor Anywhere’s suite of digital healthcare solutions.

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