UK start-up Oto, a digital health company aiming to help people living with tinnitus, has announced a $3.3 million seed investment raise just 3 months after completing Y Combinator’s accelerator programme.
Founded by former military doctors Dr Edmund Farrar, Dr George Leidig, who also live with tinnitus, along with Specialist Registrar in Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery Dr Jameel Muzaffar, Oto is the first venture funded digital tinnitus solution.
There is currently no cure for tinnitus, which affects up to 1 in 7 people around the world, and is commonly left unmanaged or poorly managed, which causes significant distress for those living with the condition. In the absence of a definitive solution with widespread access for the growing number of people living with tinnitus, Oto’s founding team set out to develop a unique solution based on their clinical experience and personal experience of the condition.
According to the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, recommended first line treatment for tinnitus-related distress is digital cognitive behavioural therapy, however until Oto was launched, there has never been a digital option.
Now, Oto has built the ultimate tinnitus solution, providing a unique, science-backed support programme via mobile app to manage what can be an incredibly debilitating condition.
Kamran Adle, investor at Octopus Ventures, said “Tinnitus currently affects around 50 million people in the US and UK, of which 20 million have intrusive tinnitus, a condition that can severely impact an individual’s life. For many this is a condition that they have little choice but to ‘learn to live with’. The Oto team, however, refuse to habituate and instead are providing a 10x cheaper and more convenient way to help people manage their condition. Though they probably don’t complain, we all know someone who suffers from tinnitus and have seen the effects it can have on an individual’s life. This is one of the reasons we wanted to support George, Ed and the entire Oto team as they tackle the market and provide an innovative digital solution to a long-overlooked issue”.
The oversubscribed $3.3 million seed round is supported by several hard hitters in venture capital, led by Octopus Ventures, supported by Goodwater Capital and Y Combinator with additional follow-on funding from Calm Storm Ventures and Bethnal Green Ventures.
