Hi
@Frangipani
I am well versed with both Fund WA and VitalTrace.
VitalTrace was a client of my accounting firm from circa 2018 to 2022. I personally prepared their tax compliance for the 2020 and 2021 financial years. I won't comment on Fund WA.
A few supplier searches may or may not have taken place within VitalTraces accounting system over those few years and word is it always came up unlucky
Their founders are Michael Challenor (CTO) and Arjun Kaushik (CEO). They met at a hackathon or incubator event from memory. Arjun is a medical doctor and Michael is a (from memory) chemical engineer and has a PhD in nanotechnology and robotics. Whilst a seemingly random duo, it worked out well for them with Arjun understanding the medical need for innovation in the obstetrics area of medicine and Michael being able to roll up the sleeves and work on a proof of concept to get things started.
They ended up raising a fair wack of money and have a very good presence in the WA MedTech scene.
I got along with Michael Challenor quite well. After they moved on to another accounting firm we caught up for a coffee and I was little more direct in asking about Brainchip. Michael hadn't heard of them, I explained the technology and told them it aligns extremely well with what they are trying to develop. He agreed and said he would look into it but also noted their main goal for now is to simply get their first device to market. They already had their funding locked away and plans in place for the development cycle, pivoting was out of the question given how far into development they were. This conversation was back in early 2022 so I didn't know it at the time but this attitude and existing capital commitment problem is an issue brainchip is currently dealing with. In other words, Brainchip's technology sounds great and is something they could consider for their next product, but they need to finish what they've started first.
I did offer to make an introduction to Brainchip for Michael and I think I might have sent an email to Adam Osseiran introducing the two to each other but I'm a little hazy on whether that was something I said I'd do but not sure if I actually did.
I've been watching their story closely because I feel invested given I worked with them for years, to my knowledge, their first product still hasn't been commercialised so I'm of the opinion akida isn't involved yet. You are correct though, the harmony is there and akida definitely has a place in their technology.
I think the development of their sensor is taking longer than they had planned. By coincidence, my Fiances step brother works for a company in Sydney that designs chips. We realised in discussion that we both had a link to their company through our work. He wasn't on the team working on VitalTrace's product design but did say the guys he works with has said what they were trying to build was not going to be easy.
Another Perth based Med Tech that has an eerily similar story to VitalTrace is a company called VeinTech. They are developing a product called the VeinWave which helps to find veins and therefore reduce failed canulation rates which are woeful and cost the hospital system hundreds of millions annually in consumable and nurses/doctors time and therefore wages etc. I know Nick Buckley (CEO) from VeinTech through my professional network, having arranged for him to speak to a tech group I was involved with a couple of years ago. The VeinWave could also benefit from some akida magic, and similarly, is likely to be more of a "maybe next time".
I might reach out to Nick and Michael and see if they are keen for a catch up soon.
Cheers
