At True, we’re backing entrepreneurs building the next generation of transformative Consumer businesses. One of them is Sava, who just announced their $19m Series A round and we’re thrilled to finally share why we wanted to back this team!
Sava has developed the world’s first real-time, under-the-skin microsensor capable of reading multiple molecules such as glucose, lactate and cortisol – unlocking a new era of proactive, personalised healthcare.
Here’s some framing as to why we’re excited.
Changing behaviour: consumers are increasingly aware and proactive about their overall health & wellness, demanding more personalised, real-time data to address both immediate health issues and improve longevity.
Cost of poor health: ageing populations and growing rates of lifestyle-related illnesses (like heart disease and diabetes) are putting immense pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. Preventative care can address issues earlier, leading to better outcomes and improved cost control.
Problem: consumer wearables are great for tracking calories, heart rate and sleep continuously, but they can’t read biomarker data from within your body. Equally, blood tests are painful and expensive, so tracking the health of your molecules isn’t practical on a regular basis.
Solution: enter Sava. They have developed micro-sensing technology capable of detecting biomarkers in real-time, just under the skin. Their first product is focused on redefining the diabetic care market with Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) – Sava’s biosensor is a pain-free, cost-effective and a highly scalable alternative to existing products.
Why we’re excited to be part of the journey
Team: Co-founders Ren and Raf met as bioengineers at Imperial, and have been relentlessly building Sava ever since. They have assembled an incredible, world-class team of scientists, engineers and technologists to help make their vision a reality.
Huge market: over 500 million people worldwide currently manage diabetes, a number estimated to reach 750 million by 2045. The glucose testing market alone is worth $16bn, and the global health wearables market is a +$100bn opportunity.
Consumer experience: Sava’s microneedle technology is a leap forward – delivering accurate measurements at just 1/7th the depth of today’s filaments, minimising pain and any skin marking. Sava’s founders are obsessed with consumer experience and design — a refreshing break from the clinical, B2B-first approach that has left even leading CGMs stuck in the past.
Better economics: significantly better pricing for consumers, leveraging Sava’s proprietary hardware components and cutting-edge biochemistry, they will be able to produce biosensors at a lower cost to consumers and higher margin than incumbents.
Sava are delivering genuine innovation in a market aching for improvement, and diabetic care is just the start. Their modular, multi-analyte sensing platform is capable of detecting additional molecules, which Sava plan to launch in the future. This is a huge leap forward in proactive, preventive and personalised healthcare.
Having raised over $30m to date, Sava are well positioned to push ahead with their plans to build advanced manufacturing capabilities and accelerate clinical validation of their first product.
We’re excited to be part of the journey with Ren, Raf and team!
