Epicore Biosystems scores $26M to expand sweat-sensing wearable technology
Epicore Biosystems announced it secured $26 million in Series B funding to accelerate the adoption of its sweat-sensing wearable technology and cloud analytics platform.
Led by the Steele Foundation for Hope, the investment will enable Epicore to scale its hydration management solutions globally while expanding into new biomarker applications, including kidney health, women’s health, malnutrition and environmental toxin exposures.
The company’s platform differentiates itself by using microfluidic channels and biosensors to analyze biomarkers in perspired sweat and plans to leverage its expertise in sweat-based biosensing to address the growing market for personalized health monitoring.
“Our technology measures both the concentration of biomarkers and the extent of tiny droplets of sweat, providing continuous and real-time insights into hydration and metabolic health,” CEO and cofounder Dr. Roozbeh Ghaffari told MobiHealthNews.
Epicore has developed two complementary solutions that address different needs in hydration monitoring.
The Connected Hydration platform is a continuous monitoring system that tracks fluid and electrolyte losses, skin temperature and movement.
It provides real-time alerts when fluid loss exceeds 2% of body weight, a threshold associated with cognitive impairment due to dehydration.
The Gx Sweat Patch, a single-use colorimetric assay patch commercialized in partnership with PepsiCo and Gatorade, measures sodium and fluid losses during workouts, providing quick hydration insights without requiring an advanced device.
“With Connected Hydration, we offer real-time hydration biometrics and automated alerts, while the Gx Sweat Patch delivers validated hydration snapshots with minimal device overhead,” Ghaffari said.
Beyond hydration, Epicore is expanding its biomarker capabilities to tackle broader health concerns.
“We’ve been building new capabilities in areas like ketones for muscle glycogen depletion, urea and creatinine for kidney health, and essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin C for nutrition monitoring,” Ghaffari said.
He added that ongoing collaborations with Northwestern University have helped validate these targets, and the new investment will allow Epicore to accelerate research and international expansion.
As climate change and extreme heat exposure become pressing global health challenges, Ghaffari said, he sees a growing need for non-invasive monitoring solutions.
“Our goal is to drive highly individualized improvements in hydration, metabolic health and wellness for all.”
The company previously secured $10 million for its hydration wearable in 2022.
THE LARGER TREND
The health monitoring device market continues to expand and is undergoing an evolution thanks to a host of AI-driven features, including Circular’s Ring 2, which features FDA-cleared ECG and AFib detection.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch Ultra, enhancing 24/7 biometric tracking with AI-powered insights, and VIV Health’s VIV Ring integrates generative sleep-aid technology.
In January, Validic, which recently secured $12 million in funding, announced its integration of wearable data into EHR workflows, giving providers access to patient data from 350 devices.
