Testmate Health closes CHF 1.6 million financing round

Testmate Health develops an at-home pregnancy style test for the four major STDs. The start-up has successfully closed an oversubscribed seed round of CHF 1.6 million.

Operating from the Biopôle’s StartLab, the mission of Testmate Health is to put people in charge of their own sexual health by making accurate testing of sexually transmitted diseases easy and accessible with an at-home test.

Based in Lausanne (canton of Vaud), the start-up has successfully closed an oversubscribed seed round of CHF 1.6 million, with the first closing occurring earlier this spring and the round extended to bring in US-based & women’s health focused VC Rhia Ventures. In addition to Rhia Ventures, Next Ventures for Humanity and several business angels participated in the financing round.

The participants of the financing round also include medtech experts and investors such as Thomas Zehnder, founders of sexual wellness e-commerce platform Amorana Alan Frei and Lukas Speiser, among others. Thomas Zehnder will also join Testmate’s Board of Directors and Elizabeth Bailey, Managing Director of Rhia Ventures, will become Board Observer.

An award-winning spin-off of the University of Geneva

With the funds, the start-up plans to accelerate product development and complete pre-clinical studies of their device. Testmate Health’s rapid digital test will for the first time, provide customers with an option for direct at-home self-testing for common sexually transmitted diseases with immediate results.

The award-winning spin-off of University of Geneva gives customers the choice of a hassle-free, simple, easy-to-use immediate urine self-test that enables prompt detection of the for most common STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and mycoplasma genitalium. Customers can skip the visit to a clinic and don’t have to wait days for a result. Results are scanned and uploaded to a paired app to guide patients towards appropriate follow-up if necessary.