Australian F1 legend Mark Webber backs hydration monitoring wearables startup in $8 million raise

A Brisbane startup developing wearables to monitor hydration in people has raised $8 million from a range of sports stars and others.

The round for WearOptimo was backed by healthcare providor Aspen Medical and former F1 driver Mark Webber, existing investors, as well as 1990s Newcastle Knights star Adam ‘Mad Dog’ MacDougall, who went on to found the weight loss meal replacement drink, The Man Shake, which he exited in a sale to private equity.

Founder and and biomedical engineer Professor Mark Kendall also has $10 million in grant funding and has now opened the first phase of the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Facility (AMF) in Brisbane to built their first Microwearable sensor.

The AMF is the first facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere, pioneering the use of Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) for health-tech.

“WearOptimo’s vision is to create global healthcare solutions that are accessible and affordable, and this new manufacturing capacity is central to that ambition,” Kendall said.

“The AMF’s use of NIL will allow us to rapidly advance our Microwearable technology towards the release of on-the shelf sensors that are scalable for widespread deployment, at a low cost per unit.

“When operating at full capacity it will allow production of up to 30 million sensors annually, which will be used by everyone from elite athletes to aged-care residents and in industries ranging from the military to resources.”

Nearly $1 million from the federal government’s Modernisation Manufacturing Fund helped set up the plant.

Kendall said the company’s pilot manufacturing line is likely the only one in the world dedicated specifically to health-tech.

“Unlike today’s typical wearables, which sit on the surface of the skin, WearOptimo’s Microwearable sticker-like sensors have microelectrodes that reach just a hair’s width into it,” he said. 

“This creates access to biosignals that allow for improved monitoring and intervention where time is critical.”has established the world’s only wearable that can genuinely monitor hydration – supported by clinical proof.