Soter Analytics secures $12m to tackle workplace injuries with tech
Soter Analytics, which seeks to prevent injuries from poor posture in the workplace, has snagged $12m (£9.2m) of new capital in its series A funding round.
The firm aims to tackle work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) with technology, as the issue impacts three out of every five workers, according to Europe’s work safety watchdog.
The wearable technology tracks all significant back and shoulder movements, and can help identify more than 100m hazards and safe movements.
The London-based firm, which claims to more than halve the chances of back and shoulder injuries, targets workers in labour-intensive jobs – such as warehousing, manufacturing and construction, having already partnered with Travis Perkins and Wincanton in the UK.
“This fresh capital will allow us to invest in research and development and work alongside organisations to help them improve workplace safety, decrease employee turnover, and enable injured workers return to work faster,” CEO and founder Matthew Hart explained.
The CEO, a former mechanical engineer at Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton, founded the company in 2016 after deciding to use the same techniques to prevent machines from breaking, “to prevent people from breaking”, he says in his LinkedIn profile.
Dr Christian Schütz, a general partner at investor btov Industrial Technologies Fund, added that “due to the high number of lost work days as a result of injuries and the ever-increasing pressure on employers, many companies in various industries are looking to implement workplace safety and injury prevention programmes.”