KinoTek raises $2.1M seed round

KinoTek, a digital health startup in Portland, has raised a $2.1 million seed round.

The company has developed an easy-to-use platform that uses AI and computer vision to help “movement clinicians”—a customer segment that includes physical therapists, chiropractors, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, among others—obtain faster, more objective measurements, and better engage clients. Using the product, clinicians are able to capture and document movement data in five to 10 seconds, then share and discuss the visualization with their clients.

“We’ve brought a new dimension of visualization, fast data capture, and client interaction to empower the widest range of movement clinicians,” Justin Hafner, KinoTek CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.

The company plans to use the funding to grow its reach across more movement clinician markets.

Lake Nona Fund, a venture fund that invests in companies in the sports and health technology industries, led the round. The fund is associated with the leAD Lake Nona Sports & Health Tech Accelerator, which last year selected KinoTek as one of six companies to attend the accelerator. KinoTek is the first accelerator graduate to receive significant funding from the Lake Nona Fund, according to the company.

“We are excited to be KinoTek’s lead investor in this round and look forward to working with Justin and his team to drive innovation in the digital health space,” Thomas Rudy, principal of the Lake Nona Fund, said in a statement. “The company’s team and technology are highly impressive and well-positioned to be a major player in movement analysis.”

Other investors in the seed round include Maine Venture Fund, Bridge Angels, among others.

Hafner and David Holomakoff founded KinoTek in 2018. The company spun out of Hafner’s research in kinesiology while a student at the University of Maine, where Holomakoff was a research scientist. Holomakoff is now the company’s chief product officer.

“We talked with a lot of movement clinicians who confirmed that they’d benefit from a faster, easier, and more objective tool other than their traditional goniometer,” Hafner said. “The real value besides the objective data, is the visualization that draws in clients to become a part of their own recovery. KinoTek gives clients the ability to immerse themselves in their rehab process. For clinicians, the data is automatically captured for easy input into the patient record and enables them to make data-driven decisions when prescribing treatment.”