Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Moovency, a France-based spinout of University of Rennes developing movement tracking algorithms to identify musculoskeletal disruption, has secured €481,000 ($521,000) in its initial funding round from an unnamed private investors. The equity was raised alongside financing from regional TTO Satt Ouest Valorisation and French Tech Seed as well as loans and grants to equip the spinout with a total of $2.3m. Moovency’s software connects to camera feeds in work environments such as manufacturing and construction to gauge the potential physical strain on workforces. Unlike competing technologies, Moovency claims its approach does not require sensors to be affixed to the worker’s body. Moovency extends research from the Mouvement Sport Santé lab at University of Rennes.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated to Ohio State University (OSU), has launched US-based biotherapeutics spinout Clarametyx Biosciences to target persistent infections associated with bacterial biofilms. Clarametyx’s lead candidate, CMTX-001, is a humanised monoclonal antibody undergoing preclinical development for hospital-acquired pneumonia that is becoming more difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance. The spinout has raised an undisclosed seed sum co-led by Ohio Innovation Fund – the venture firm backed by OSU, Ohio University and Kent State University. Rev1 Ventures also co-led through Catalyst Fund II, with participation from Emerald Shoals Targeted Opportunities Fund. Bill Baumel, managing director of Ohio Innovation Fund, and Wayne Embree, executive vice-president for venture acceleration and investments at Rev1 Ventures, have both joined the board of directors.
