Venture Center invests in healthcare startup, DeeDee Labs

Pune: Technology startup incubator, Venture Center has invested an undisclosed amount of seed funding in healthcare startup Dee Dee Labs, which aims to restore anatomical function lost by amputation, under the NIDHI-SSS (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations-Seed Support System), an umbrella programme of the DST (Department of Science & Technology) of Government of India.

Speaking on the development, Pratik Bhalerao, co-founder Dee Dee Labs, said, “The funds will mainly be used to strengthen our R&D effort for product development and pilot testing of the prototype. This will help us to reach to a stage where we can show the alpha version of the product and apply for the subsequent funding opportunities.” 

Dee Dee Labs, based at Venture Center, is a R&D startup company working in the healthcare domain. They are working on a non-invasive multigrasp myoelectric prosthetic arm for transradial amputee population in India and the Indian subcontinent.  Their bionic arm technology platform is designed to restore anatomical function, lost by amputation, by using intelligent hardware and algorithms that can respond in a human-like way.

“DeeDee Labs has the potential to serve an unmet need for affordable and empowering upper limb prosthetics. While doing so, the company is developing a platform that can be applied to many other applications in assistive technology products,” said Dr Premnath, Director, Venture Center who is very optimistic of large market growth in these sectors in the coming years.

NIDHI-SSS (National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations-Seed Support System) is an umbrella program of the Department of Science and technology that provides financial assistance up to Rs 1 Crore to potential startups with promising ideas, innovations and technologies. 

Founded in 2007, Venture Center is one of India’s leading science and technology business incubator that has supported over 350 entrepreneurs, and has incubated more than 70 startups. Venture Center won the National Award for Technology Business Incubators from the President of India in 2016, and was adjudged “Incubator of the Year” in 2018 by the Asian Association of Business Incubation.