Technology

Posted on August 12, 2019 by staff

North West HealthTech firm Xploro wins European funding

Technology

Digital therapeutics platform Xploro has won in the final round of the European Institute of Technology’s (EIT) Health Headstart Awards.

The firm was among 13 winning start-ups from across the UK and Ireland after pitching their business ideas to an expert jury.

The awards of €50,000 have been awarded with the intention of helping innovative health tech firms overcome hurdles and strengthen their business profile.

Health Innovation Manchester, the Academic Health Science Networks for Greater Manchester, has supported Xploro’s access to the healthcare market in the region.

The AR-based app began as spin-out of Manchester-based digital agency Corporation Pop.

The agency’s managing director Dom Raban was inspired to develop the app after seeing the importance of giving children and young people the right information when treated in hospital.

“This award will allow us to do something that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do at this stage of our development: it opens up a massive new global marketplace to us,” said Raban, Xploro’s co-founder and CEO.

“We’re using the funding to develop a Spanish language version of the Xploro app which is allowing us to engage with organisations not only in Spain but also in the United States and other countries worldwide.

“Our relationship with Health Innovation Manchester goes back to the first funding we ever received for Xploro, a grant of £20,000 which enabled us to do early user need testing.”

Raban said the team is currently undertaking public trials at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, and expects the app to launch in autumn.