An Aussie medtech just raised more money to fix one of the most dangerous moments in childbirth: the hours around delivery, when things can go wrong fast.
How it works
Oli, formerly Baymatob, makes a wireless wearable that sits on the mother during labour. It reads maternal and fetal signals across 10 biosensors without getting in the way of the birth. The aim is to turn those raw signals into live predictions, flagging patterns that come before complications like postpartum haemorrhage.
Why it matters
Standard monitoring in birth suites can drop out, misfire and needs constant attention. Postpartum haemorrhage is, according to the WHO, one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide, and most of those deaths are preventable with earlier care. Oli’s version for that use case, Oli PPH, has received FDA Breakthrough Device designation.
The raise
Oli raised $6.5M in a Series A3 round backed by Scale Investors, Clare Ventures and the University of Sydney. That takes it to about $13M in private capital, plus more than $9.5M in non-dilutive grants.
The founder
Dr Sarah McDonald, a mechatronic engineer, started the company in 2018 after the traumatic birth of her second child.
My read
Medtech is slow and expensive, and grants doing this much of the heavy lifting tells you how hard it is to fund here. But an FDA breakthrough tag on a problem this big is a real signal. I’d love to see this one get the money to finish the job.