TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Healthcare technology startup PranaQ said it has completed NT$92.2 million (US$3 million) in seed round fundraising.

The round was attended by multiple global venture capital firms, including DSC Investment, Smilegate Investment, NAVER D2SF, and Lighthouse Combined Investment.

NAVER is particularly important as South Korea's largest internet company and global tech platform. It joined the round as a strategic investor on the back of its recent focus on healthcare as a new business driver.

“We developed a fingertip device that collects physiological signals during sleep. Then, the signals get sent to a mobile app for our AI algorithm to analyze and generate a sleep report,” according to Business Development Manager, Simon Kuo.

He added, “With our product, patients can get a sleep diagnosis without having to go through a PSG (polysomnography) sleep test, which is often expensive and very uncomfortable.”

Kuo said he was particularly excited about the company’s success in the seed round, noting PranaQ intends to use the funds to acquire FDA certification and then launch marketing initiatives.

In a company issued press release, Sooseob Won at DSC Investment, the lead investor of the round said, "PranaQ has developed innovative AI-powered algorithms and a compact sleep testing device that is near commercialization."

PranaQ is pioneering the use of wearable medical devices that can be paired with AI-based biosignal processing algorithms. While the company's first endeavor monitors sleep disorders like sleep apnea, other product innovations could soon follow.