What You Should Know:
– Openwater, a pioneering healthcare technology company, today announced the acceleration of its plans to commercialize its groundbreaking platform that leverages semiconductor physics, light, and sound to diagnose and treat diseases at the cellular level.
– Founded by Mary Lou Jepsen, a former executive at Google X, Meta, and “One Laptop Per Child,” Openwater has secured $100M in funding to advance its mission of making advanced medical care accessible worldwide. The investment round was backed by prominent investors including Plum Alley Ventures, Khosla Ventures, BOLD Capital Partners, Esther Dyson, and Peter Gabriel.
Fighting Disease with Technology
Openwater’s innovative platform combines high-resolution infrared imaging, precision-tuned ultrasound, and targeted electromagnetic fields to enable unprecedented visualization, monitoring, and treatment of biological issues. This unique approach offers the potential to revolutionize healthcare by providing more accurate diagnoses, targeted therapies, and improved patient outcomes.
Key features of the platform include:
- Precision and selectivity: The platform can selectively destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unaffected, similar to the precision of an opera singer’s voice shattering a specific wine glass.
- Versatility: Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the technology’s potential across various medical fields, including oncology, neurology, and ophthalmology.
- Open-source approach: By adopting an open-source model, Openwater aims to accelerate medical innovation and reduce the time and cost associated with bringing new medical devices to market.
Addressing Global Healthcare Challenges
Openwater’s technology has the potential to address several critical challenges facing the healthcare industry:
- Accessibility: The company’s focus on affordability and accessibility aims to make advanced medical care available to a wider population.
- Economic burden: By reducing the cost of medical devices, Openwater can help alleviate the economic burden on healthcare systems and individuals.
- Global health disparities: The technology’s potential to improve patient outcomes can contribute to addressing global health disparities.
“As a brain tumor survivor, I’m not just developing technology; I’m fighting for my life and the lives of millions like me,” said Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater’s founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We’ve shrunk brain tumors and treated depression using lower intensity sound waves than fetal ultrasounds.”