Startup Notebook: Portland application developer raises $600K, joins Roux residency starting up lineup

KinoTek Inc., a Portland-primarily based developer of a electronic health and fitness platform that employs pc-eyesight know-how for body-movement evaluation, reported Tuesday that it has lifted $600,000 in a pre-seed funding spherical that was oversubscribed.

The enterprise was established in 2018 by University of Maine college students Justin Hafner and David Holomakoff, who won the “Greenlight Maine Collegiate Problem” in 2019.

In Tuesday’s announcement, KinoTek explained it will use funding raised in its very first spherical to launch its to start with merchandise, referred to as Move.ly, to the community afterwards this calendar year.

Investors consist of IeAD Sports activities and Overall health Tech Partners, Tavistock Group, Maine Engineering Institute and impartial angel buyers.

“Every greenback of this spherical is what we take into account ‘smart income,'” stated Hafner. “Every single investor provides enormous price to our corporation an allows us to create a sturdy foundation for upcoming expansion.” He also referred to the closing of the initial funding round as “a testament to the team’s hard operate during the pandemic and proof of the expanding startup ecosystem in Maine.”

KinoTek is also just one of six businesses in the commencing lineup of Northeastern University’s Roux Institute Startup Residency in Portland, and one of 6 individuals in a new Florida-primarily based athletics wellbeing and wellness accelerator program released by IeAD.

“What drew us to KinoTek was their perfectly-rounded group and chopping-edge technology”, reported Christoph Sonnen, co-founder and CEO of Direct Athletics & Health and fitness Tech Associates. “Their purpose of empowering experts and patients to far better realize human movement has the probable to certainly disrupt this industry. Now it is all about executing and bringing their vision to life.”

On Tuesday, Hafner told Mainebiz that it truly is an honor to be accepted into the Roux program in Portland.

“Roux delivers us with an remarkable talent pipeline and accessibility to an intensive community of strategic companions,” he added. “As element of the initially cohort of startups, KinoTek has the exciting chance to support condition how Roux assists significant-advancement businesses in Maine and lay the basis for attracting out-of-state startups to Portland.”

KinoTek not long ago named its very first two impartial board users, the two of whom are business owners.

Residency software individuals

Besides KinoTek, other members of the Roux institute Startup Residency inaugural course include things like Forerunner, developer of a platform to assistance communities manage flood risk Hydronet, which aims to create an underwater WiFi community Lief, which is placing out to reinvent childcare for families and vendors starting off with a pilot in southern Maine fisheries-focused New England Maritime Checking and UNAR Labs, a University of Maine spinout company that develops assistive technological know-how for blind and visually impaired buyers. Items consist of a video game app for visually impaired players released in 2018.

Participants will be equipped to get the job done along with other resident providers and Roux Institute study teams as effectively as interact with Roux Institute pupils and corporate companions including WEX Inc., which is leasing place to the institute on the Portland waterfront.

Katie Shorey, president of volunteer-run nonprofit Startup Maine and a 2020 Mainebiz Up coming Listing honoree, welcomed news of the inaugural cohort.

“The businesses in Roux’s residency will preferably remain in Maine, mature and convey far more expertise to our startup scene,” she informed Mainebiz. “This type of focused programming will assist bring in much more founders and outdoors buyers to our now thriving ecosystem.”