Mastercraft Ventures has made an investment in MyoWorks, a tech startup that’s developing smart treatment devices for physical therapists and other specialists.
The Beloit-based venture capital firm yesterday announced the investment, the third it’s led so far this year. That’s according to Managing Director Mason Cook, who praised the Windsor company’s approach to deploying AI-enabled tools in an interview.
“What really intrigued us about this business, and where I think they’re going to go is … what happens when these physical tools that practitioners use become intelligent?” Cook said yesterday. “And what happens when they start to create an ecosystem that turns the tool into a sensor, and the sensor then transmits data to software that can capture and understand the art behind the medical space?”
MyoWorks founder Jeremy Quick created the business after spending more than a decade as a practicing chiropractor. He previously developed the company’s handheld soft tissue manipulation tool for use in his own practice, and was able to boost his revenue by 20% by combining multiple treatments into one appointment that are typically done separately.
The device can be used for deep tissue massages, but also comes equipped with components for red light therapy and electrotherapy. It connects to the company’s own software platform to capture valuable data and automates the documentation process.
While an initial form of the tool was made in a small machine shop in Lodi, a more refined version was later connected to the platform through a partnership with software engineer Joe Scanlin.
With the new funding from Mastercraft in hand, the startup is currently transitioning from the prototype phase into efforts to go to market, though Cook noted the team is “always iterating” and improving on the design. MyoWorks has begun approaching chiropractors to roll out the device at other sites, which will provide more data through the software integration for the platform.
That link to the broader software network can be used to compare patient data and identify trends, including for treatment outcomes.
“We really see this platform being an ecosystem, and they’re beginning to be in the hands of chiropractors and physical therapists across the area,” Cook said, adding “as more and more practitioners are using this and growing their data set … it just makes the overall ecosystem of patient outcomes and the MyoWorks dataset more valuable, and the patient outcomes even better.”
While Cook declined to provide a specific figure for the pre-seed investment, Mastercraft Ventures’ average check size is around $500,000.
The VC firm’s approach is to be the first investor in early-stage Wisconsin tech companies. Mastercraft Ventures late last year announced it had completed fundraising for its inaugural $11.5 million fund.
See an earlier story on the VC firm.