The company is aiming to increase manpower in its Singapore headquarters and offices in China, India and Switzerland within the next two years, as part of the expansion plans
KaHa, a Singapore-based end-to-end IoT platform startup for smart wearables, has raised US$6.2 million in Series B funding to accelerate its growth in Asia. The funding round was led by ICT Fund, a specialized deep-tech venture capital fund and an existing strategic investor from Europe.
Company’s official statement read, “The funds raised in this round will enable the company to boost its research and development and scale its operations in the Asia Pacific region. APAC is the world’s fastest growing smart wearables market, outperforming Europe, the Americas and Africa.”
“Apart from helping us expand our product line, this new round of funding will allow KaHa to discover more breakthrough products that can support the health and wellness, sports and fitness, safety and digital payments needs, as well as increase the COVE platform’s availability internationally and improve our accessibility and affordability,” said Pawan Gandhi, founder and CEO of KaHa.
Launch of Cove R2C IoT innovation lab
KaHa shared that it will be expanding its presence in Singapore as well as play a more significant role in the country’s IoT ecosystem. This year, the firm launched the Cove R2C IoT Innovation Lab, a multivariate IoT innovation and research lab in one-north technology hub. In close collaboration with public and private partners, KaHa is currently developing innovative usecases on smart wearables. Valuable partners across the IoT development value chain include Singapore research institute A*STAR SIMTech, Bridgestone, Curtis Australia, MHA Manufacture de Haute Accessoirie Partners, Tex Line and Titan.
An example of KaHa’s innovation is its collaboration with Tex Line and A*STAR SIMTech to create the first made-in-Singapore Smart Fitness T-shirt. The smart-T, which was tested at the one-north Run 2018, monitors live ECG, live heart rate, heart rate variance, V0 2 Max and other health parameters. Recently, the company showcased the new features of the second- generation Smart Fitness T-shirt at a Singapore tech exhibit.
The latest version is made from conductive yarn that enables the smart module to be placed anywhere on the T-shirt, increasing flexibility and creativity in the design and convenience for the user. Beyond smart wearables, KaHa, together with A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics or IME, developed an extravasation detection proof of concept designed to detect the degrees of swelling during infusions.
Being able to detect varying degrees of swelling, the sensor patch and monitoring system will help improve patient safety by assisting in the early detection of complication to ensure immediate care be given to patients, particularly babies and children.
End-to-end IoT platform for smart wearables
Incorporated in Singapore in 2015, KaHa has an end-to-end IoT platform for smart wearables including electronics design, printed circuit board assembly, application framework for iOS and Android, cloud services, data analytics and smart after-sales service tool. The platform enables partners and customers to incorporate the latest technology without prohibitive financial costs and speed up their go-to- market time for smart products including smart bands, smartwatches, smart accessories and smart apparel.
KaHa is showing significant early customer traction and expects the number of devices powered by its platform to exceed two million by the end of 2019. The company also aims to increase manpower in its Singapore headquarters and offices in China, India and Switzerland within the next two years, as part of the expansion plans.
The global wearables market is projected to grow significantly. According to CCS Insight, sale of smart wearables is predicted to grow at 16.5 percent CAGR, from 121 million units in 2018 to 260 million units in 2023, creating a market opportunity worth almost US$30 billion.
