Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Epicore Biosystems, a Northwestern University wearables spinout, raised a $26 million Series B.
Why it's the BFD: Epicore's wearables aim to combat dehydration and side effects from heat exposure as work-related injuries and deaths from excessive heat increase.
Follow the money: The Steele Foundation for Hope led the round.
- The foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that invests in for-profit companies.
- Portfolio businesses include Northwestern University medical device spinout Rhaeos, which last year collected a $10.5 million Series A.
How it works: Cambridge-based Epicore makes wearable sensors that assess sweat composition and fluid loss for employees in sectors like aviation, construction, energy and manufacturing.
- Its wearables are used by Fortune 500 companies, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
- The company's product lineup includes a sweat-sensing patch developed with PepsiCo and Gatorade.
What they found: Epicore in February published a small study in NPJ Digital Medicine demonstrating that its sensors were capable of measuring whole-body sweat loss, sweating rate, sodium concentration and sodium loss in 22 adult study participants.
The big picture: Extreme heat exacerbated by human-caused climate change kills thousands of workers around the world each year and injures tens of millions of others, according to estimates from the United Nations' labor organization.
