The Development Bank of Wales has led a funding round of £440,000 with an equity investment of £250,000 in Hestia, Tendertec’s pioneering AI care assistant unlocking healthy ageing and stress-free caregiving at home. 

Addressing chronic shortages in the social care workforce, Hestia utilises advanced technology, merging heat sensing and machine learning to empower caregivers with early visibility into potential risks, thereby enabling the provision of preventive care. The privacy-centric platform employs wall-mounted sensors to record data pertaining to daily movements, rest patterns, and falls, all without the use of cameras. The platform’s proprietary technology is capable of detecting up to three times more fall-risk events than reported by caregivers, even with round-the-clock care. 

The rapid increase in life expectancy over the past few decades has brought new complexities to the forefront with care services grappling with the growing demands of elderly communities. Significant resource shortages and high turnover of care providers and support workers have led the social care sector to grapple with a severe crisis resulting in over 400,000 individuals awaiting care-needs assessments and worsening NHS hospital discharge delays. Current data suggests 152,000 care staff vacancies, with about 390,000 care workers leaving their roles annually, a third of whom leave the sector altogether. 

Dr Afroditi Konidari, co-founder and CEO of Tendertec, remarked: “The elderly population is rapidly growing, and the care sector is struggling to keep pace. We need over a 50% increase in paid carers by 2030 to ensure adequate care. The current situation calls for innovative AI solutions, like Hestia, to address the urgent need for caregivers and fulfil the care sector’s economic and job creation potential,” 

Hestia is the brainchild of Dr Afroditi Konidari and Rui Zhang, founders of Cardiff-based Tendertec. Their shared experiences as remote carers and backgrounds in digital health, connected care, and smart buildings inspired the platform’s creation. 

Rui Zhang, co-founder and CTO, said: ” We all have ageing parents and grandparents and are keenly aware that when you can’t be with someone all of the time, you are bound to miss early symptoms of health deterioration and frailty. Hestia provides 24/7 visibility into potential risks, offering reassurance with remote monitoring. Since Tendertec’s inception, we’ve detected over 5,000 fall-related incidents and early symptoms of frailty, enabling those with complex care needs to receive early intervention and maintain their independence.” 

Investment from the Development Bank of Wales came from the £20 million Wales Technology Seed Fund II that is financed by the Welsh Government. The funding round has secured the investment from family office Puffin Point, business angels Marina Bouki, Ariadni Velissaropoulos and Michalis Diamantopoulos, as well as Theti Club angels Theo Paraskevopoulos and Vangelis Sakelliou. 

This funding round, following an earlier investment from Metavallon VC and a £1.4M grant from Innovate UK and UKRI’s Designed for Ageing challenge in 2022, will allow Tendertec to expand its team, scale its customer base, and further its AI R&D programme. The investment will also support the company’s expansion into the broader social care market and create more opportunities in Europe, particularly within the domiciliary care sector.  

“We’re grateful to the Development Bank of Wales and our business angel investors for their continued support. Tendertec is committed to developing an infrastructure where elders and their caregivers can thrive together,” said Rui Zhang, CTO and Co-Founder of Tendertec. 

Linzi Plant is an Assistant Investment Executive with the Development Bank. She said: “Both Afroditi and Rui have a passion for tech-enabled care along with expertise in machine learning and user-centred design. Our finance will help them to help others to stay healthy, independent and safe with a data-driven solution that is cost-effective, personalised and preventative. 

“We’re delighted to be working with co-investor Puffin Point. As a family office, they are a great example of how we are attracting more investors to Wales and stimulating more investment for Welsh businesses.” 

Will Chawner, Investor at Puffin Point said ‘Tendertec ticks a lot of boxes for us from an investment perspective, none more so than having a fantastic management team. We are hugely excited to see how their innovative solution measures against its enormous potential.’ 

Raphael Kontos, Managing Director of Theti Club shared ‘The Tendertec team was the key factor that motivated our investment group to commit both capital and expertise. Their dedication and talent were truly impressive. In particular, Afroditi stands out as an aspiring leader with the potential to guide the company towards significant success.’

Contact: Lucy James, contact@tendertec.org