When high-risk pregnancies meet molecular-level monitoring, maternal healthcare gets a serious upgrade. MoleSense, an EPFL spin-off, just secured €156,000 in maternity wearables funding from Venture Kick to bring real-time biochemical tracking to expectant mothers facing complications.
The Swiss medtech startup tackles a critical gap: doctors making life-or-death decisions with limited data when a mother’s water breaks too early. Current methods rely on invasive tests and guesswork to balance infection risk against premature birth complications.
Molecular Wearables for Maternity Care Transform Pregnancy Monitoring
MoleSense’s approach monitors inflammatory proteins and steroid hormones through sweat—continuously and non-invasively. Think of it as upgrading from periodic blood tests to a “wear and forget” device that tracks biochemical markers in real time. The technology combines personalized molecular data with biology-aware machine intelligence for actionable insights.
Founded by Dr. Gian Luca Barbruni and Dr. Ata Golparvar, both EPFL PhD graduates with deep expertise in micro- and nano-engineering, the company targets over eight million high-risk pregnancies annually across Switzerland, Europe, and the United States. “Venture Kick challenged us to think bigger, move faster, and sharpen our vision,” said CEO Barbruni.
Breaking Into the €102 Billion Women’s Healthcare Market
The funding will support validation studies and regulatory pathway progression toward early market entry. MoleSense is already partnering with high-risk pregnancy centers like CHUV for initial rollout, positioning itself in the €102 billion women’s healthcare device market (converted from $110B).
Venture Kick’s €156,000 investment (CHF 150,000) follows the startup’s 2025 win at EPFL’s Startup Champions Seed Night, where it beat 19 competitors. The Swiss investor has previously backed successful medtech ventures and specifically targets early-stage deeptech coming out of research institutions.
For founders navigating high-risk pregnancy complications, MoleSense sets a new standard: proactive, data-driven maternity care that replaces reactive crisis management with continuous molecular monitoring.