PCH International CEO Liam Casey
Lively, a healthcare start-up backed by Liam Casey’s PCH International accelerator programme, has raised US$4.8m in a Series A funding round led by Cambria Health Solutions.
Lively’s activity sharing technology aims to help millions of older adults living at home worldwide retain their independence while giving their loved ones peace of mind about their health and well-being.
Iggy Fanlo, David Glickman, and Keith Dutton founded Lively in the summer of 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
The company’s hardware uses cellular technology to communicate with in-home passive sensors that learn an older adult’s normal daily routines, such as when meds are taken, time spent out of the house and eating and drinking activity in the kitchen.
The activities can then be monitored via any mobile device.
A design for life
“Designing a simple and delightful consumer experience is what drives us every day,” said Glickman. “With PCH’s help, we’re able to deliver a hardware experience that the aging market has never seen before, at a level of quality and perfection that consumers have come to expect from the world’s leading brands.”
Last year, PCH International, a global product design and development giant, announced plans to create at least 50 new jobs at its new US headquarters in San Francisco.
The new 30,000 sq-foot facility will encompass jobs across a variety of roles, including product design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, firmware design, operations and business management.
PCH International, which employs 80 people in Cork, revealed earlier this year plans to employ an extra 1,500 people at a facility in Shenzhen, China, near Hong Kong, in a move that will grow employment to 3,000 worldwide.
Commenting on the Lively investment, Casey said: “This is an incredibly innovative product and we are delighted to work with Lively. The news today that Lively has secured Series A financing is a huge milestone for the company and an important stage for the brand’s growth and development.
“At PCH International we understand what it takes to bring a product to market and understand the complexities that a start-up encounters when they try to build a supply chain division, while building the business and launching a brand and marketing strategy.
“The PCH Accelerator programme eliminates these complexities by partnering with high-potential hardware start-ups, giving them access to some of the same resources used by the world’s leading brands and assisting them to develop relationships with venture capital firms in Silicon Valley,” Casey said.
