South African biometrics company secures $47m funding
LifeQ, the South African provider of biometrics and health information derived from wearable devices and used in health management solutions, announced it has secured $47 million from investors around the world. LifeQ co-founders Laurence Olivier, CEO, and Dr. Franco du Preez, chief scientist, made the announcement.
“LifeQ is proud to partner with the world’s most distinguished investment groups to positively impact the future of health for all people,” stated Olivier. “We are in the midst of a global health crisis caused by sedentary lifestyle, increased work demands, and unhealthy foods resulting in rapid increase in chronic illnesses worldwide, many of which are preventable. The Covid-19 situation has brought this problem into stark focus. LifeQ has already been integrated into some of the world’s most innovative new wearable products by leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to bring consumers the healthcare of the future.”
LifeQ has two key value propositions: enabling wearable devices to provide business-grade and near clinical-grade health information streams; and using this data to generate health and wellness solutions for consumer, business and clinical applications. LifeQ is rapidly becoming the preferred health enabler and benchmark for the world’s top consumer electronics companies, powering the next wave of digitally enabled insurance and health management, and has already had significant, life-changing and even life-saving impact on real users’ lives.
“High accuracy, personalised, non-invasive digital health monitoring by wearable devices is the future of well-being and good health,” stated Du Preez.
LifeQ has assembled a shareholder base to assist with business expansion, including Invenfin, 4Di Capital, Allectus Capital, Mogul Capital, Tenhong Holdings, Analog Devices, Hannover Re, Convergence Partners, Stellar Capital Partners, Nedbank Corporate and Investment Bank, Delos, OneBio Seed Investment Fund, Virgin Group, Lireas, Allen & Co, and Acequia Capital. LifeQ has also drawn the backing of experienced entrepreneurs and family offices such as Rachel Diamond, Halls Investments, Bremer Investments, Errol Damelin and Dietco, among others.
“We are delighted to welcome these world-class investors to LifeQ,” said Olivier. ”The capital from this investment round has significantly expanded our working capacity and will drive higher reach, growth and profitability.”
Businesses that have incorporated LifeQ into their offerings include prominent global entities such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Fossil Group, Montblanc, Motorola, Suunto, and HannoverRe. Semi-conductor manufacturers like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm and Pixart have endorsed LifeQ as the best OEM enabler for users of their chipsets and platforms.
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