Australian health technology startup Curo Technologies has relocated its home base from Melbourne to
Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Innovation Center.
Curo director Steve Hopkins says the strategic decision to move the company's core operations to the United States was based on the size of the domestic market and better positioning for continued international growth.
"All of our tech development going forward will be based here in Ann Arbor for the global operation," he says.
Curo’s wireless sensor technology monitors seniors' daily activities (with their consent and without any cameras, Hopkins says), such as the completion of expected tasks — think opening a bedroom door, refrigerator, or medicine cabinet — whether they are home or away. It can then alert caregivers if the patient deviates from his or her normal routine.
"We're basically a software company that gathers data and then conceptualizes it," Hopkins says.
Hopkins, a Dexter resident, joined the company in January after helping to arrange and oversee its first commercial pilot with his previous employer, Evangelical Homes of Michigan, in fall 2015.
Hopkins brings more than 10 years of healthcare industry experience to Curo from his own private consulting business and previous role as chief operating officer for Evangelical Homes of Michigan.
If things go as planned, Hopkins plans to double Curo's staff of four in the next six months as he hires software developers and a business development support team to work out of the new office.
This year the company is focused on generating massive amounts of data to help identify trends in senior health and wellbeing, and proactive ways that data can be used.
Curo is sold directly to care centers and other businesses for now, and it will likely be at least a year before consumers can start purchasing it directly here in the United States.
Curo continues to maintain a presence in Australia, including six commercial pilots underway there now. It also recently received a $1 million investment from Australian-based health insurance company HCF.
Curo is the second international company to make a "soft landing" at SPARK Central. It joins Germany's iTiZZiMO, which launched its first U.S. office at the nonprofit business incubator's downtown space over the summer.
Eric Gallippo is an Ypsilanti-based freelance writer.
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