Medical device startup Respira Labs is changing its name to avoid a potential legal challenge.
The Mountain View company is switching its name from Respiralabs Inc. to Samay, CEO Dr. Maria Artunduaga said Saturday in post on LinkedIn. The move came after Respira, whose device helps those with respiratory issues monitor their lung function, was alerted earlier this year its name potentially infringes on a trademark held by another company, she said in the post.
Artunduaga said she was sad to change Respira's name, which means "to breath" in her native language. But she saw that the move presented an opportunity too, she said.
"With time, I have learned to pick my battles, and in this case, I decided to take the opportunity and do something even better: re-spawn a new identity that represents not only me, but an entire team building a company destined to do good for (more than 800 million) respiratory patients worldwide," she said in her post.
A native of Colombia who's partially of indigenous descent, Artunduaga turned to her South American roots for inspiration on a new name, she said. "Samay" is from Quechua, a language that's spoken in the Andes, and means "to breath deeply," she said.
Artunduaga didn't say in her post what company alleged that Respira Labs was infringing its trademark.
Samay — then known as Respira Labs — was the winner of the Bay Area Inno Madness competition earlier this year. The company has raised $1.3 million in venture funding to date, including $1 million in a pre-seed round in February. It's also raised about $1.9 million in grants, Artunduaga said.
The startup's new web address is samayhealth.com.
