Omni Biotech wins seed funding, as Snackr closes its doors

Late last week, as startup aficionados were digesting a week of opportunities and what they learned from the biggest West Tech Fest, the conference closed out with news that Perth-based Omni Biotech had raised seed funding from east coast venture capital fund Skalata.

It was exciting news both for the Omni crew as well as the West Tech Fest organisers who want to see tangible results from bringing investors such as Silicon Valley legend Bill Tai into close contact with WA startups.

At around the same time, on the other side of the world, Snackr chief executive Matthew Lim announced that the business would shut down after four years of development, boosted in June last year by a $915,000 seed round backed by some of the most experienced local startup supporters such as BetterLabs and Spacecubed Ventures as well as Woodside Energy and Eastcourt Capital.

Omni and Snackr are very different concepts that were at very different stages of development. If they had anything in common it was a tenuous sporting linkage.

Omni uses the optical sensors already present in smartphones and wearable devices to continually monitor the wearer’s hydration levels, a notable leap from those devices’ most common usage such a counting steps or heart rate.

Snackr, whose three founders are all now based in the UK, enabled users to order food and have it delivered to their seat at stadiums and other live events.

It is not known what ultimately killed off the Snackr idea.

Examining its public profile, the business had ticked many of the boxes any startup would want early in its journey. Aside from the seed raising a year ago, it had been the focus of various startup related news services and podcasts, had been a delegate to the British government’s Australia and New Zealand mission to London Tech Week last year, been accepted into an accelerator program and field tested its product at major venues.

“Our time with Snackr has been nothing short of amazing, filled with invaluable experiences and lessons,” Mr Lim wrote on LinkedIn.

“Thank you so much to all of our investors, supporters, friends and family - we would never have got as far as we did without your guidance and support!”

Meanwhile, Omni’s founders Will Poot and Zac Farrow will likely still be on a high after being backed for an undisclosed sum by Skalata, a Melbourne fund manager chaired by businessman Paul Little.

While Omni makes passing reference to coaches and the founding pair have been photographed at a sporting venue, it is clear that its technology has significant industrial application.

Omni says Australian workers in construction, mining, and emergency services are exposed to searing heat on top of intense physical labour. Without early detection, dehydration can literally be life or death.

“Dehydration leads to the three of the most commonly occurring workplace accidents on Australian heavy industry sites,” said Mr Farrow.

Omni is currently piloting the product with several resources companies operating in the North-West and undertaking a validation study at Monash University to further develop its algorithm.

“Step counters proved that access to health data leads to behavioural change,” Mr Farrow said.

"But there needs to be constant access for people to make better decisions and perform at their best.

“By increasing access to insights previously reserved for elite athletes, we’re giving everyday people and teams the opportunity to perform at their elite level.”