SEATTLE– Wavely Diagnostics, a digital diagnostics company developing smartphone-based apps to bring accurate, data-driven virtual pediatric care into every U.S. household, raised a $2.2MM seed round to expand development of the Wavely platform in preparation for commercial launch in spring of 2022. The new funding further advances Wavely’s progress toward revolutionizing pediatric care by unlocking access to high-quality treatment at any time, from anywhere.
Wavely has been awarded nearly $275,000 in non-dilutive grant funding for research and development since 2019 and raised $2.2MM in seed funding from investors in 2021 to accelerate product development. Investors include Ambit Health Ventures, WXR Fund, WRF Capital, Cascade Seed Fund, Gaingels Spark Fund, HealthTech Capital, Wealthing VC Club, Purpose Built VC, Vantage Partners Texas, Crosstimbers Capital Group, and various angel investors.
“Wavely’s first diagnostics solution helps parents determine if their child has signs of a possible ear infection and connects the family to a virtual care physician who can prescribe treatment if needed. This is the next step in getting high quality pediatric care to every child in this country,” said Arna Ionescu Stoll, CEO of Wavely. “Human-centered design is key for us: it has to be effortless for you to transform your smartphone into a diagnostic tool. Our first product will enable parents to shift the primary cause of millions of doctor visits–ear infections–to virtual visits.”
Wavely’s phone-based diagnostics app coupled with a paper funnel turns a smartphone into an acoustic tool which only needs to be placed at the opening of the ear canal; it is non-invasive and user-friendly, so parents can get quick, reliable answers the first time they use it.
Wavely is starting with ear infections and intends to expand the virtual care solutions available on Wavely’s telehealth-integrated platform.
“Wavely’s platform has the powerful potential to enable access to medical diagnostics from the comfort of patients’ homes,” said Naomi Fried, PhD, Wavely Board Member and Managing Partner at Ambit Health Ventures, which led Wavely’s investment round. “We’re excited to invest in Wavely, which will bring down barriers to pediatric healthcare. With Wavely’s platform, an ear infection can be managed at home without the inconvenience of a visit to the doctor’s office, taking off time from work and school, and risking exposure to other illnesses outside the home. That’s a future we all want now.”
This round of funding will be used to accelerate market entry for Wavely’s ear infection solution, first to parents and other at-home consumers, then with health care partners.
Wavely’s executive team is led by Arna Ionescu Stoll, CEO, Ehud Gelblum (PhD), CFO, and Joan Hain, Vice President of Operations. Company advisors include esteemed leaders Naomi Fried (PhD), Managing Partner at Ambit Health Ventures, Missy Krasner, digital health pioneer at Google, Box, Amazon and Redesign Health, Karen Drexler, a medical device and health tech entrepreneur, Stephen Meyer, former President and CEO of Welch Allyn, Martina Welkoff, Managing Partner at WXR Fund, Loretta Little, Managing Director at WRF Capital, Randy Bly (MD), Wavely Co-founder and Pediatric ENT at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Shyam Gollakota (PhD), Wavely Co-founder and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at University of Washington.
