The Denver wearable technology startup Cipher Skin is raising capital and bringing on advisers for its push into the health care industry.
The company announced this month that it so far had received investments from Tribe Capital, Draper Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. The amount of the raise was not disclosed. Cipher Skin is continuing to fundraise, and the total amount of the funding round will be made public by the end of the year, a spokesperson said.
In addition to raising money, Cipher Skin is bringing on advisers. Caitlin "CK" Kalinowski, the head of augmented reality hardware at Meta, will join its advisory board, as will Dr. Ara Feinstein, a trauma and critical care physician at Banner Health in Phoenix.
Cipher Skin developed wearable technology for peoples' arms, legs and torsos. The tech, named the BioSleeve and BioCore, includes sensors that track motion and capture biometric data. The devices can send actionable insights to wearers and their medical providers.
The startup is looking to push its products into the health care industry, with the goal of becoming a standard device among physical therapists, said founder and CEO Phillip Bogdanovich. The tech would allow providers to stay connected to patients and continue to treat them outside of clinical appointments, Bogdanovich said.
With the devices, physical therapists would be able to evaluate patients' conditions and track their health outcomes over time, the company said.
"At Cipher Skin we are intensifying our focus on physical rehabilitation and strengthening the industry by connecting in-clinic therapy with at-home care," Bogdanovich said in a statement. "We are empowered by the continued support of our investors and new advisors to put connected care within reach of every rehab therapy provider."
Bogdanovich believes the addition of Kalinowski and Feinstein to Cipher Skin's advisory board will give the startup more influence within the health-tech industry and encourage medical providers to adopt the technology.
At Meta, Kalinowski leads a team that is responsible for developing augmented reality glasses, called Project Nazare, that Meta is expected to release in 2024. She previously led the team that works on Oculus Quest.
In a statement, Kalinowski said she knows firsthand the effects of smart devices and sees potential in Cipher Skin's products to advance physical therapy.
"The digital revolution in health care is changing the way patients seek treatment and how rehab therapists heal patients," Kalinowski said in the statement. "I am energized by the enormous potential that Cipher Skin's smart sensor and Biosleeve technology has to improve health care."
Cipher Skin was founded in 2017. Last year, it raised $5 million in Series A financing, and in 2020 it signed a $1.5 million contract with the Department of Defense as part of the agency's Small Business Innovation Research program.
The company originally built sleeves that were intended to be an in-facility, workflow optimization tool for physical therapists. When in-person appointments were canceled during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cipher Skin shifted its focus to offering devices that patients could wear at home.
