TitletownTech, a tech hub and venture fund led by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, has announced the details of one of the first startup investments from its $25 million venture capital fund.
TitletownTech announced Thursday that it led an $8 million round in Oculogica, a digital healthcare company that helps diagnose concussions. The startup’s product, called EyeBOX, uses eye-tracking technology to determine if a person has a concussion, and it’s the first FDA-approved device to use the eye-movement tech to monitor concussions, the company said.
“Oculogica has developed ground-breaking technology that will change how doctors, hospitals, parents and athletes diagnose and manage head injuries,” Jill Enos, managing director of TitletownTech, said in a statement.
TitletownTech officially launched last fall. Led by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, TitletownTech is an initiative to spur startup growth and innovation in Green Bay. It operates an innovation lab, venture studio and $25 million VC fund. The group’s first fund is expected to invest in 18 startups, writing checks between $100,000 and $1 million.
TitletownTech has invested in 10 startups so far, according to its website, including Green Bay-based VR startup Tundra Labs. TitletownTech Managing Director Craig Dickman previously told Wisconsin Inno that it plans to invest in 10 companies that are Wisconsin-based in its first fund.
Oculogica was founded in 2013 by sisters Rosina and Uzma Samadani, who grew up in Beaver Dam, Wis. The startup has its engineering and product development teams in Wisconsin.
Oculogica’s headquarters are in New York City, where Uzma was previously an assistant professor at New York University. Several years ago, Hennepin County Medical Center recruited her to join their neurosurgery team. She also previously served as an associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota. Currently, Uzma works at CentraCare Neurosciences in St. Cloud.
The startup said it will use the funding to support its commercial distribution to trauma centers across the U.S. Oculogica’s technology is also being used by the U.S. Department of Defense.
It makes sense why the Packers would want to invest in a startup that’s working to diagnose concussions. But Oculogica’s tech works on all types of concussions, not just the ones that are caused on the playing field. The startup’s EyeBOX technology doesn’t require a baseline test, takes less than four minutes to administer, and can be given within minutes of an injury with immediate results.
“Oculogica is exactly the type of dynamic, leading-edge company we envisioned being part of TitletownTech,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said in a statement. “The Packers are proud to help create a support network in Green Bay that is attracting high-growth, scalable ventures to our region that are developing transformative solutions to industry challenges.”
