Valencell raises $10.5 million to expand sales growth

Wearable biometric sensor maker Valencell has raised $10.5 million in Series E funding led by Sonion a/s to invest in its sensor technology and expand sales growth.

The latest round, which had additional participation from TDF Ventures, GII LLC, and WSJ Joshua Fund, brings the company’s total funding to $35 million. Sonion a/s is a micro acoustic company which provides technology for earphones, hearing aids, and wearables. Sonion and Valencell recently formed a strategic partnership to design, develop, and manufacture biometric sensing modules for use in and on user’s ears for health, consumer, and professional communications applications.

“Sonion is very excited about this opportunity to not only partner with Valencell exclusively for the Valencell technology for the ear-level space but also to join the strong investor team in Valencell”, said Jesper Ahlmann Funding Andersen, President and CEO of Sonion a/s. “We see strong growth opportunities for this collaboration as we combine the Valencell technology and roadmap of exciting biometrics including more advanced medical monitoring functionalities with our 40 years+ of experience and skills in micro-acoustics, micro-mechanics and power management.”

Valencell’s technology has been integrated in more than 30 wearables and “hearables,” and the company holds more than 60 patents, with over 100 still pending. It sees significant growth in the market for wearable biometric sensors beyond consumer wearables, in health and medical devices, military and industrial safety, and AR/VR devices, according to the announcement.

“Valencell has an established track record of innovating in wearable biometric sensors and this funding enables us to accelerate our investments in R&D, market development and go-to-market resources,” said Valencell CEO Michael Dering. “In addition, with Sonion leading the investment round, Valencell gains a powerful strategic partner to bring new capabilities to serve the consumer hearables and hearing health markets. Valencell and Sonion share a strong vision and operating model for making major advancements in hearing health and hearable devices.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  investment  |  sensors  |  Valencell