Yopi
The power of sweat
Yopi developed the first wearable sweat monitoring system that provides an accurate picture of the user‘s health and wellness state. The breakthrough innovation enhances sports performance and prevents severe health conditions.
138% of funding target
By: Hemi Re‘em
Successfully fundedAngel Investment
Investment type:
Company Stage:
Category:
Medical Devices
Highlights
Highlights
Using the Untapped Knowledge of Sweat for the First Time Ever
For the first time in the wearable device market, Yopi is introducing revolutionary biosensors that monitor sweat in real time, along with algorithms that can produce accurate insights regarding the user's physical and medical condition. Continuous sweat monitoring provides a deep understanding of the user's oxygen consumption—the gold standard in determining cardiorespiratory fitness. Today, the only way to measure oxygen consumption is by wearing a designated mask in lab conditions. The company manages to match the standard offline lab test's results, with a wearable and affordable device, that performs continuous monitoring in real-time.
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Revolutionizing the Wellness Market: Kick-Start your Training Performance
Initially, Yopi's innovative technology is meant for the Wellness market which has experienced a major surge in recent years, and is expected to generate a revolution among amateur and professional athletes alike. Essentially, Yopi can be used as a smart, portable personal health and fitness trainer, that learns from users' personal physiological feedback—feedback that until now, has not been available to them outside of a clinical lab. Thus, athletes can maximize their performance without causing injuries or overexertion, all according to their own physiology. The wellness market offers many sports performance monitoring systems, but these are mostly based on pulse measurement technologies- a non-comprehensive and inaccurate parameter, that provides only a partial picture of the body's physiology.
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The Tiny Sensor that will Prevent Heart Attacks: Introducing the Early Detection Trend in Cardiology
Yopi anticipates spurring a revolution in the cardiology field as well, by enabling early detection and prevention of serious heart conditions, which will save the patient, society and health systems significant resources, as well as many lives.
Following an FDA approval, Yopi's pioneering development will be used as a remote medical diagnostic tool. The system will provide continuous, real-time sweat monitoring and analysis of biological parameters, along with algorithms that can detect changes in these parameters and translate them to the user's cardiac condition. Yopi will be able to detect cardiovascular diseases in advance, before these lead to life-threatening situations.
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A Team of Experts with a History of Exits and a Personal Connection to the Cause
Yopi was born from personal experience. The founder and CEO, Hemi Re'em, a seasoned entrepreneur, manager and senior consultant in the field of mechanical engineering and business development, used to be an ironman and amateur athlete, and made sure to measure his physiological parameters regularly using the latest sports monitoring technologies. Even so, and without being part of any risk population, discovered one day that he suffered from severe blockage of over 90% in his coronary arteries, requiring immediate by-pass surgery. After this experience, he joined forces with his friend Dr. Menachem Genut to develop the technology behind Yopi.
Unfortunately, Hemi is not alone, 1 out of 7 people suffer from undiagnosed blockages in their coronary arteries. After he recovered from the operation, he decided he must uncover a more successful monitoring method—for both the sports performance enhancement field that is close to his heart, but mostly to diagnose cases like his before they end in a disaster.
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Yopi's International Ambassadors
Yopi's physiology monitoring technology is supported by medical and sports experts, that have been using the sensors over time, as well as leading international companies that are expected to test the sensors in the upcoming year.
The company is currently conducting extensive tests assessing the sensors' accuracy in comparison to the standard lab test in collaboration with Israel's leading sports medicine and physical therapy center, Medix. Thus far, these have shown an impressive accuracy of 90%. In the beginning of 2023, the company will conduct external clinical trials with participants of different ages, sex, physical fitness, and risk levels of coronary artery blockages.
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Funding from the Israel Innovation Authority and Private Investors
Yopi has received a significant grant from the Israel Innovation Authority for the development of their product, along with extensive private investments. Yopi is part of Southup, a medical incubator promoting innovative technologies based in the Gaza Envelope. Yopi is also part of Magnet, a start-up accelerator for the Negev Development Authority and Tech7, a venture studio in the Negev. As part of the accelerator, the company is connected to Israel's top mentors, helping startups in their development process, and connecting them to leading early-stage investors from Israel and abroad.
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Pitch
Pitch
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of death globally. Nearly 19 million people died from CVD in 2019, representing 32% of all global deaths during that year. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attacks—caused by a blockage in the coronary arteries that impairs the heart's ability to provide sufficient blood supply to the brain and to the rest of the body. It is crucial to detect CVDs as early as possible in order to prevent life-threatening events.
The Need
Scientists and international health organizations have defined oxygen consumption (VO2) as the golden standard in determining cardiorespiratory fitness. Nowadays, the only way to measure VO2 is via mask in a controlled lab environment—a method that is not feasible in the field. Hence, a new real-time measurement method is required.
Studies have shown that sweat electrolytes hold an enormous diagnostic potential, as a close correlation has been found between electrolyte levels in sweat and those in the bloodstream—which indicate the user's oxygen consumption rates during physical training.
Insights produced from sweat monitoring are also applicable in the wellness space. The wearable monitoring devices market is experiencing a dramatic growth in recent years. A significant part of this market focuses on sports training monitoring technologies based on pulse measurement. This parameter, according to cardiologists and sports physicians, provides only a partial picture of the body's physiological condition, particularly its cardiac condition. As a result, the user may be "in shape", but about to experience a life-threatening event.
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The Solution
With a revolutionary biosensing system that monitors the user's sweat in real-time—the "liquid of the future", concealing many medical insights—and with intelligent algorithms analyzing the user's physiological parameters, Yopi provides a comprehensive and accurate picture of the user's physical and medical condition. Therefore, amateur and professional athletes alike, can on the one hand, improve their athletic performance without causing injuries. On the other hand, the innovation provides an added value as a medical diagnostic tool, that can detect changes in cardiac function in advance, thus saving many lives.
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The Technology
Yopi's tiny sensors can be used as an integrative component in any wearable monitoring device. These contain specific membranes that identify and measure electrolyte levels in the sweat over time (such as potassium and sodium) during physical activity. These parameters are then transferred to a computerized system and translated by algorithms, using machine learning and AI, to the body's physiological gas exchange measurements. Next, from the oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide emission levels health insights are produced, specifically those regarding the cardiovascular system.
The company's revolutionary technology enables continuous monitoring, and with the use of AI, the system learns the user's personal and unique physiology, thus recognizing changes even in a matter of days. The system is offered at an attractive price, thanks to an innovative manufacturing method developed by the company—a technological breakthrough in the field.
Team
Team
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An entrepreneur, scientist and creative director of nanotechnologies, materials science and chemical engineering. He received his education from the Technion—starting with a B.Sc in chemical engineering, to a PhD in materials engineering, specializing in the field of semiconductors.
Dr. Genut was part of the discovery of new inorganic nano-structures, as part of the Weitzman Institute‘s nano-material synthesis team.
Later on, as CEO and Founder of ApNano Materials, Inc (NANOMATERIALS LTD), that was established based on his discovery from the Weitzman Institute, Dr. Genut led the company from its development stages and until it became a huge manufacturing facility producing nano products by the ton, employing 50 scientists, engineers and technicians. The company was acquired by the American Nanotech Industrial Solutions, Inc. in 2013.
As Oramir Semiconductors Ltd.‘s R&D VP, Dr. Genut managed the engineering and development teams for the production of chips using special laser technology, and helped mediate the acquisition by Applied Materials Inc. in 2002.
Dr. Genut has written dozens of international patents, as well as many scientific papers publications. His publication in the prestigious NATURE scientific journal has received over 2500 scientific references.
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A sports cardiologist, graduate of the European Union‘s Sports Cardiology Association, and part of the International Olympic Committee‘s sports cardiology department. Dr. Hadas is Israel‘s first specialist in pediatric and sports cardiology, trained in pulse disorders and sports cardiology in Aziende Ospedaliere—the world‘s leading sports cardiology center in Padova, Italy.
Along with his role in the company, Dr. Hadas also serves as the director of the Israel Sports Cardiology Center and senior cardiologist in Asaf Haroffe Hospital.
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Sheran is an Israeli athlete and soccer player, currently serving as Maccabi Tel Aviv‘s captain, and previously the captain of the Israeli Soccer Team.
Sheran has extensive experience and deep understanding of professional athletes‘ needs and requirements, and is greatly familiar with the local and international market.
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