Ottawa-based health-tech firm Welbi is among six startups receiving funding from the Ontario Brain Institute for promising neurotechnologies.
Welbi, which develops a platform for retirement communities to monitor and improve the experience for both residents and their families, will receive $50,000 through the Ontario Neuroscience Entrepreneurs (ONtrepreneurs) program. In addition to cash, recipients are given 12 months of support through OBI’s network, training and mentorship.
Welbi, which operates out of Bayview Yards as a member of Invest Ottawa’s accelerator program, was founded by Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau and Nicholas Petryna in 2016. The company began as an app developer to track older adults’ activity and safety levels through common wearable devices, but transitioned out of this space at the beginning of 2018.
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To date, the firm has raised roughly $500,000 from grants and angel investors.
While the program takes no equity or IP from its ONtrepreneurs investments, the Ontario Brain Institute has built a portfolio of 70 companies since it launched in 2012, including Ottawa-based Spiderwort.
