Microsoft tech innovation ace joins Decorte board as seed funding grows
Cambridge startup Decorte Future Industries (DFI), which extracts health data from sound, has raised significant cash and been handed a massive vote of confidence with Microsoft innovation chief, Trupen Modi joining its board.
Modi, the Pennsylvania-based director of Digital Health Innovation Strategy at Microsoft, is set to take his seat as a Non Executive Director with the software giant and startup already exploring partnership opportunities.
DFI has already raised $1.6 million to enable microphones to pick up complex health metrics but founder and CEO Dr Roeland Decorte tells Business Weekly that almost as much again is being negotiated.
Modi, who has been a director at Microsoft for seven years, has been advising the startup since November 2021.
He joins Gordon Hollingworth, the CPO at Raspberry Pi, Mike Muller, the co-founder and ex-CTO at semiconductor and software giant Arm, Susan Standiford, the ex-CTO at IKEA and Disney Online, as well as other founders and venture capitalists, in backing the health-from-sound startup.
DFI deploys novel Machine Learning methods, inspired by research at the University of Cambridge, to extract health data directly from sound collected by standard microphones.
The company previously built various hardware architectures to support its data collection efforts. Its core product is an AI engine that any third party can connect to in order to extract complex and accurate human health data simply from microphones embedded in existing devices and infrastructure.
DFI non-invasively extracts cardiovascular, respiratory, mental, neurological and gastrointestinal health data from individuals’ bodies at a fraction of the cost and complexity of existing methods.
In 2021, the company successfully proved a 99.6 per cent efficacy compared to ECG-gathered ground truth data, using a simple microphone.
On the cardiovascular side, its Machine Learning algorithms have been expanded in 2022 to include arrhythmia and murmur detection, including atrial fibrillation – with mass clinical observation studies being conducted in India.
The company’s technology is set to slot into existing hardware and software infrastructures and Decorte has been working with various parties at Microsoft, Google and other international players in the software, consumer device and healthcare sectors to explore integration.
Modi writes: “The Decorte team have built a market differentiator product that will transform the healthtech landscape. Integrating with existing infrastructure, their engine can identify and monitor alignments, resulting in efficient data collection as well as early detection and intervention. I personally believe this team is extremely talented and will generate substantial revenue.”
DFI was incorporated near the end of August 2019, though the founder had already been working two years full time on the tech and strategy before that.
The company became a Techstars London company, receiving $120k investment in September 2020. Between June 2020-July 2021, the company was also supported by two subsequent Innovate UK grants.
DFI completed its $580k pre-seed round in January 2021 with participation of two billion dollar company CTOs (ARM, IKEA).
In 2022 the company raised the first $1m tranche of its seed funding from one London-based and one Silicon Valley-based VC fund (identity to be announced).
DFI decided to split its seed round into two, with a six-month gap between the tranches so the round is ongoing and a formal announcement of the final amount raised is pending.
Besides the $1.6m initial seed round cash already in the locker talks are said to be advanced with major VCs that, with a following wind, could hook a further £1.5m.
• PHOTOGRAPH: Founder and CEO Dr Roeland Decorte (2nd left), alongside head of Machine Learning Erika Bondareva; head of Hardware Design and Embedded Software Liam Carter, and head of Software Infrastructure Jasbir Singh, at the VC backer’s offices in Mayfair.
