AI blood glucose management service developer A-PL announced on the 2nd that it has been finally selected for the TIPS program, hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, upon recommendation from Mashup Ventures, the TIPS operator. A-PL secured initial investments from SBVA and Mashup Ventures in April.
TIPS is a private investment-led technology startup support program that discovers and intensively nurtures promising startups with technological capabilities. Selected companies receive 500 million KRW in research and development (R&D) funding over two years to support technology development and market entry in the early stages of their startups.
Unsweet utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) technology to recognize food photos and provides nutritional analysis and blood glucose response prediction services. It also links with continuous glucose monitors to track real-time blood glucose changes following food intake, helping improve dietary habits.
A-PL is a team of KAIST graduates who have worked together for a long time, led by CEO Donghee Yoon, who has sold two startups to Kakao. A-PL identified innovative potential for diabetes patients in the healthcare market and is now challenging its third startup. Since the prediabetes stage affects approximately 800 million people worldwide as a metabolic syndrome, they focused on related health systems.
Donghee Yoon, CEO of A-PL, said, “A-PL provides an optimal health management solution by enabling people in the high-risk group, who are not yet subjects of hospital treatment, to easily manage their blood glucose levels. After being selected for TIPS, we plan to enhance the personalization features of our AI blood glucose prediction system, and our ultimate goal is to contribute to users’ metabolic health management through customized dietary habit management.”
Park Eun-woo, partner at Mashup Ventures who recommended A-PL for this program, said, “Due to population aging, the global medical market trend is shifting from treatment to prevention. Unsweet, which manages even prediabetes patients, will serve as a foothold to accelerate the emergence of the preventive healthcare market through AI technology.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
