A tech startup recently raised $38 million to expand its artificial intelligence-supported sensor and analytics platform for senior living.
The company, Butlr, announced Monday its additional Series B funding brings its larger investment pool to $68 million, with Foundry serving as the lead investor on the latest round of funding.
Butlr was “spun out” of the MIT Media Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab belonging to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Through a series of magnetic sensors located inside a senior living community, the company’s namesake product uses thermal imaging and artificial intelligence to detect falls and record staffing and resident movement patterns.
Butlr can record and share anonymous data points such as someone’s temperature, body posture, indoor location and the general occupancy of a room. It joins a handful of similar companies in senior living focused on detecting falls and giving operators more real-time data with which to better care for residents.
“With the ability to better understand how people use interior spaces, we can imagine a not-too-distant future where Butlr sensors and data are the essential nerve system for buildings throughout the world,” said Honghao Deng, CEO and co-founder, Butlr in a press release. “Our focus for this strategic funding is to continue to support enterprise customers and meet the strong demand for our technology in senior care.”
To date, the company’s senior living clients have included Shell Point, a continuing care retirement community in Fort Myers, Florida.
Additionally, the company is in partnership with Walmart, Qualcomm, Verizon and others to support business operations, and the additional funding will expand Butlr devices in senior living communities.
With the new funding, the company is expanding to meet demand from a variety of industries, with senior care chief among them, according to Jiani Zeng, Butlr co-founder and chief product officer.
“We are successfully building a loyal customer base because our technology provides the insights to support strategic decisions that were previously based on outdated practices or opinions,” Zeng said.
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