IDUN Technologies wins the Takeda Digital Health Innovation Challenge to further enable the Internet of Humans
12.04.2021
Takeda is committed to improving the patient journey across the healthcare ecosystem. Through the Takeda Digital Health Innovation Challenge, the company selects the best digital-health projects in Europe and recently announced the two winners for this year: Among them is Venture Kick and Venture Leaders Alumni IDUN Technologies, which also ranked among the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2020 and 2018. The startup develops a holistic understanding of all aspects of the value chain, from brain activity to device integration. We interviewed IDUN CEO Simon Bachmann to better understand the fabulous transition from the Internet of Things to the Internet of Humans.
 |
 |
Winning the Takeda Digital Health Innovation Challenge allows IDUN Technologies to learn from Takeda’s experience and expertise and enter a fully funded pilot project with one of the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The collaboration will enable the Zurich-based startup to change how their patient solutions work: By having their technology accompany patients with sleep disorders, IDUN can help improve sleep health with unobtrusive headphones that monitor brain waves and facilitate sleep onset with neuromodulation. Analyzing patients’ continuous brain data can also help show the effectiveness of the treatment.
Simon, how will this partnership with Takeda help IDUN Technologies achieve its vision and how concretely will it change your activities in the future?
The vision of IDUN Technologies is to create the Internet of Humans—a world where our minds and bodies are connected to the digital world. We want to create empathic technology that reacts to your cognitive and emotional needs. As a winner of Takeda’s Digital Health Challenge, we will work together on patient-centric digital health solutions that go “beyond the pill” to bring value to patients suffering from sleep disorders. This partnership will combine IDUN’s competencies in mobile biopotential sensor technology with Takeda’s Health Innovation ecosystem that delivers transformative therapies to patients worldwide. Together, IDUN and Takeda can bring IDUN’s vision of the Internet of Humans to address the needs of patients served by Takeda’s core therapeutic areas with novel applications of digital therapeutics that combine IDUN sensor and artificial intelligence technologies.
What do you think about the influence of your technology on the way people will interact, especially in this period of increasing remote work?
The Internet of Humans is the next stage of the Internet of Things, by bringing the human into the equation of connectivity and placing the user in the center. We see our technology as the missing puzzle piece between consumer electronics products like headphones and the ever-growing world of digital services, apps, and smart devices. Our closed-loop mechanism allows us to monitor a neurological state through brain monitoring (EEG) and use this information to adapt the functionality of a device for it to change and improve the neurological state of the user.
For example, imagine a stressful Zoom marathon in your remote workday. This poses challenges for your mind and body, including the ergonomic challenge to sit at the desk all day, cognitive strain focusing your eyes on the screen, and the social challenge of having severely limited visual and auditory information about your vis-à-vis—subtle visual or auditory cues that are not well transmitted through a Zoom call. Our technology can detect increased stress or mental fatigue in neurological signals and could potentially create a smart plug-in for your calendar to book breaks and micro-interventions (relaxing music or meditation) for your mental health and wellbeing.
Can you quote a science-fiction movie that best represents your vision of the future and the potential use of your technology?
One that has resonated with me personally on a philosophical level is the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in Blade Runner (1982) from Ridley Scott because it makes me excited about the future of human-machine symbiosis and the ethical and philosophical challenges this implies. Another great inspiration I have found in HER (2013) from Spike Jonze, which challenges our ideas and values about the concept of consciousness, relationships, and artificial intelligence.
You won Venture Kick in 2018. How did it help you lay the foundation for your growth and today's achievement?
Venture Kick was one of our earliest competitions we won and provided a significant financial boost and technical and commercial validation for our startup. Thanks to winning Venture Kick, we were able to raise a successful equity round back in 2018 and pave our way toward the stage we are today. My co-founder Séverine and I still vividly remember the Kickers Camp with Jordi Montserrat, whose advice and experience we value dearly. Thanks to the program and pitch we have understood where to focus and what to prioritize.
You also participated in Venture Leaders Life Sciences in 2018 and China in 2019 and were selected to be one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2020 and 2018. How could you leverage these successes for your fundraising strategy?
Public recognition and awards are always helpful to be on the radar of early-stage investors. What I personally value even more is the amazing personal education and development as an entrepreneur it provided to us. It was incredibly stimulating to embark upon these adventurers with fellow entrepreneurs and to understand the mindset and values of different startup hubs in the United States and China. I have found mentors and friends on these trips that are there for me when I need support or advice. This is what it is truly about—building a constructive ecosystem where we help each other out and create great companies for the exciting future.
Simon Bachmann pitching at Venture Leaders China 2019 in Shanghai
Simon, how will this partnership with Takeda help IDUN Technologies achieve its vision and how concretely will it change your activities in the future?The vision of IDUN Technologies is to create the Internet of Humans—a world where our minds and bodies are connected to the digital world. We want to create empathic technology that reacts to your cognitive and emotional needs. As a winner of Takeda’s Digital Health Challenge, we will work together on patient-centric digital health solutions that go “beyond the pill” to bring value to patients suffering from sleep disorders. This partnership will combine IDUN’s competencies in mobile biopotential sensor technology with Takeda’s Health Innovation ecosystem that delivers transformative therapies to patients worldwide. Together, IDUN and Takeda can bring IDUN’s vision of the Internet of Humans to address the needs of patients served by Takeda’s core therapeutic areas with novel applications of digital therapeutics that combine IDUN sensor and artificial intelligence technologies.
What do you think about the influence of your technology on the way people will interact, especially in this period of increasing remote work?
The Internet of Humans is the next stage of the Internet of Things, by bringing the human into the equation of connectivity and placing the user in the center. We see our technology as the missing puzzle piece between consumer electronics products like headphones and the ever-growing world of digital services, apps, and smart devices. Our closed-loop mechanism allows us to monitor a neurological state through brain monitoring (EEG) and use this information to adapt the functionality of a device for it to change and improve the neurological state of the user. For example, imagine a stressful Zoom marathon in your remote workday. This poses challenges for your mind and body, including the ergonomic challenge to sit at the desk all day, cognitive strain focusing your eyes on the screen, and the social challenge of having severely limited visual and auditory information about your vis-à-vis—subtle visual or auditory cues that are not well transmitted through a Zoom call. Our technology can detect increased stress or mental fatigue in neurological signals and could potentially create a smart plug-in for your calendar to book breaks and micro-interventions (relaxing music or meditation) for your mental health and wellbeing.
Can you quote a science-fiction movie that best represents your vision of the future and the potential use of your technology?
One that has resonated with me personally on a philosophical level is the Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in Blade Runner (1982) from Ridley Scott because it makes me excited about the future of human-machine symbiosis and the ethical and philosophical challenges this implies. Another great inspiration I have found in HER (2013) from Spike Jonze, which challenges our ideas and values about the concept of consciousness, relationships, and artificial intelligence.
You won Venture Kick in 2018. How did it help you lay the foundation for your growth and today's achievement?
Venture Kick was one of our earliest competitions we won and provided a significant financial boost and technical and commercial validation for our startup. Thanks to winning Venture Kick, we were able to raise a successful equity round back in 2018 and pave our way toward the stage we are today. My co-founder Séverine and I still vividly remember the Kickers Camp with Jordi Montserrat, whose advice and experience we value dearly. Thanks to the program and pitch we have understood where to focus and what to prioritize.You also participated in Venture Leaders Life Sciences in 2018 and China in 2019 and were selected to be one of the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2020 and 2018. How could you leverage these successes for your fundraising strategy?
Public recognition and awards are always helpful to be on the radar of early-stage investors. What I personally value even more is the amazing personal education and development as an entrepreneur it provided to us. It was incredibly stimulating to embark upon these adventurers with fellow entrepreneurs and to understand the mindset and values of different startup hubs in the United States and China. I have found mentors and friends on these trips that are there for me when I need support or advice. This is what it is truly about—building a constructive ecosystem where we help each other out and create great companies for the exciting future.
Simon Bachmann pitching at Venture Leaders China 2019 in Shanghai
[]