Tuesday 2nd June 2024
Lua Health is revolutionising workplace wellness with an innovative AI approach.
The creator of a proactive wellbeing platform for the workforce Lua Health has raised €500,000 in pre-seed funding.
The round was led by Enterprise Ireland and private investment firm Growing Capital.
“This marks a global turning point in both the well-being space post-Covid and the AI sector”
Founded by Fionn Delahunty and Dr Mihael Arcan in 2023, Lua Health emerged as a spin-out from the University of Galway and the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics. The team received prior support from the Enterprise Ireland commercialisation fund.
Gauging wellbeing in real-time
“We’re thrilled to have the support of Enterprise Ireland and Growing Capital,” said Fionn Delahunty, co-founder of Lua Health.
“This marks a global turning point in both the well-being space post-Covid and the AI sector. Lua Health’s mission is to assist individuals in better understanding their well-being and putting an end to silent suffering. We’re excited to have two prominent Irish partners supporting us on this journey.”
Lua Health has pioneered proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms capable of accurately detecting indications of poor mental health based on how a person speaks or writes.
Following a thorough period of customer discovery, the team has crafted a product tailored for the corporate wellness market. Implemented in a privacy-by-design manner, the product allows employees to gauge their mental well-being in real-time, facilitating access to support if needed.
Simultaneously, it empowers companies to transition from a reactive well-being culture to a proactive one. The technology has already undergone validation in various enterprise settings, showcasing significant improvements in well-being, increased engagement with benefits, reduced sick leave, and heightened productivity.
“We at Enterprise Ireland understand the importance and necessity for emerging deep-tech solutions which offers a solution to global problems,” said Anna0-Marie Turley, department manager, HPSU & Entrepreneurship at Enterprise Ireland.
“Lua Health’s highly innovative and disruptive technology solution addresses a gap in the market allowing businesses to monitor and take action to prevent mental health deterioration amongst their staff. I want to congratulate the team at Lua Health on its recent investment wins. Enterprise Ireland is proud to have provided support to Lua Health at each stage of its growth journey from our research commercialisation and HPSU sector teams. Today’s announcement will further allow Lua Health to scale and compete and bring its platform to the next level.”
Gianni Matera, Founder, Growing Capital added: “We take pride in our investment in Lua Health’s technology, enabling individuals to gain a deeper understanding of their well-being and take timely actions to prevent situations from worsening. Lua Health marks our fourteenth collaborative venture with Enterprise Ireland, and proudly stands as our fifth investment in innovative spin-outs stemming from Irish universities.”
Source: thinkbusiness.ie