Heartbeat Labs adds Medlanes, Mimi to its collection of digital health startups

By Dave Muoio
01:07 pm
Share

Berlin-based digital health startup platform Heartbeat Labs announced that it has invested in two new companies: home visit platform Medlanes and app-based hearing test maker Mimi Hearing Technologies, both of which are also based in Berlin.

Heartbeat Labs provides digital health startups with seed funding ranging from $614,450 to $6,144,500 (500,000 euro to 5 million euros). The company also provides startups with access to a pool of investors and various operational personnel whose expertise includes marketing, HR, finance, and regulatory affairs.

“We build our own companies, we are an innovation partner for established corporations in the healthcare sector and we invest in promising startups,” Eckhardt Weber, cofounder and managing director of Heartbeat Labs, said in a statement. “Our investments are therefore one of three pillars to establish a strong, fast network; an ecosystem for digital health.”

Medlanes allows patients to book home visits with pediatricians, internists, orthopedists, and general practitioners over a phone call or through a free mobile app. The cost of a treatment through the service begins at about $100 dollars (80 euros), with care available 24-7. So far, more than 25,000 patients having received a visit from over 300 practitioners with the service.

“People want to use the benefits of the internet in healthcare too, they want to use their smartphone and receive timely medical advice,” Eckhardt said. “At the same time, they often still want personal contact with the doctor. Medlanes seizes on this trend by combining the best of the online and offline healthcare worlds.”

Founded in 2013, Mimi Hearing Technologies uses a CE marked, app-based hearing test to determine and individual’s “hearing profile.” With this, the company can suggest ideal volume and sound settings for users listening to music, watching movies, or playing games. The company offers this service not only to bring “perfect sound to everyone,” but also as a way to protect users’ long-term hearing health. More than 650,000 people worldwide have taken Mimi’s hearing test, and according to the company over 1.2 million have downloaded its various hearing-related apps.

“With Mimi we are investing in a deep, difficult-to-copy technology that was developed together with the Charité Berlin [university clinic],” Weber said. “It is also exciting that Mimi can go so many different ways of monetization: as a license to hardware companies, as a plug-in for streaming services, or in cooperation with health insurances.”

Heartbeat’s capital will come as Series A funding for both of the startups, which will join previous Heartbeat investments in Daatrics, Aurora Health, and Heallo.ai announced last year.

Share