Respiree Fortifies $11.6M Fund to Expand AI-Driven Care in North America

HOUSTON, TX – February 24, 2026 – Health tech innovator Respiree has strengthened its Series A funding syndicate with a new investment from Canadian MedTech fund One Six 8 Ventures. The move bolsters the company’s US$11.6 million war chest, aimed squarely at accelerating the adoption of its AI-powered cardiorespiratory monitoring platform across the United States and Canada.

This strategic investment, announced today, marks a significant step in Respiree’s North American expansion. The company, which established its U.S. headquarters at the prestigious Texas Medical Center (TMC) Innovation in Houston, is poised to scale its commercial operations and deepen its market penetration. The original Series A round, co-led by We Venture Capital and ClavystBio in July 2025, also includes a formidable group of backers such as Adaptive Capital Partners, Greenwillow Capital Management, Seeds Capital, and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Research.

“We have been intentional in building a Series A syndicate that brings both strategic insight and regional expertise to solve critical health inefficiencies,” said Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Founder and CEO of Respiree. “Welcoming One Six 8 Ventures, a respected North American VC, enhances our ability to execute and supports our planned growth across U.S. and Canadian markets.”

The Strategic Infusion

One Six 8 Ventures’ entry into the syndicate is more than just a capital injection; it’s a vote of confidence from a fund specializing in high-growth verticals like AI-Driven Diagnostics and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). Founded in 2023, the Calgary-based firm seeks out first-in-class innovations with clear paths to commercialization and global scale. Respiree’s 1Bio™ platform, which combines proprietary sensors with advanced machine learning, fits squarely within this investment thesis.

"We continue to back exceptional leadership teams that have demonstrated clear clinical and commercial traction," stated Judyanna Yu, Managing Partner of One Six 8 Ventures. "Respiree has developed a category defining platform that addresses urgent needs in cardiorespiratory care. We are excited to partner with Dr. Singh and the syndicate to accelerate the adoption of this technology in the North American market."

The partnership provides Respiree not only with growth capital but also with the strategic guidance of a firm led by physician-operators and industry veterans, crucial for navigating complex regulatory landscapes and driving market access.

A New Paradigm in Patient Monitoring

At the heart of Respiree’s strategy is its 1Bio™ platform, an end-to-end system designed to manage disease progression across the entire healthcare continuum. The platform distinguishes itself by integrating data from electronic health records (EHR) with real-time physiological data gathered by its proprietary, US-patented wearable sensor, the RS001.

This integrated approach aims to solve a critical problem in modern healthcare: alarm fatigue and the deluge of uncontextualized data. By focusing on “better use of data, not just more data,” Respiree’s AI models are engineered to provide high-precision notifications that signal patient deterioration days in advance with over 90% accuracy.

Clinical validation for this technology is robust. In pre-print findings published in The Lancet, a flagship AI model developed during the Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate program demonstrated a Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 54.9% for detecting deterioration. This represents a nearly seven-fold improvement over EPIC's widely used deterioration index, which had a PPV of just 8% in the same study, significantly reducing the rate of false alarms that plague clinical staff.

Navigating the Regulatory Gauntlet

Respiree has meticulously built a strong regulatory foundation for its global ambitions. The company has already secured market access in the U.S., Australia, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, backed by a series of critical clearances.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company two key 510(k) clearances. The first, in March 2023, approved the RS001 wearable for non-invasive spot-checking of respiration rates in hospital settings. A more significant clearance followed in August 2025, which expanded the device’s use to home environments and included the connected 1Bio™ platform. This second clearance was a pivotal moment, unlocking the vast potential of the remote patient monitoring and hospital-at-home markets in the U.S.

Beyond the FDA, the platform is CE marked for the European market and has received approvals from Australia’s Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) and Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The company is now pursuing further FDA clearances to classify its advanced AI algorithms as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), which would allow for even deeper integration into clinical workflows for both inpatient and home-based care.

The North American Blueprint

The fresh capital and fortified syndicate are set to fuel an aggressive expansion plan targeting the lucrative North American healthcare market, a key component in a value-based care technology sector projected to reach $8.55 trillion by 2034. Respiree’s strategy is multi-faceted, leveraging its strategic location, partnerships, and technology.

Establishing its U.S. headquarters at the TMC Innovation campus in Houston provides unparalleled access to a dense ecosystem of hospitals, research institutions, and talent. This move is central to building out its U.S. commercial team and fostering collaborations.

Furthermore, the company is extending its reach beyond direct clinical care. A residency at JLABS @ South San Francisco, which began in February 2024, signals Respiree’s intent to engage with the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. Its iRIS One decentralized clinical trials platform offers to optimize drug trials by discovering new digital biomarkers and aggregating real-world data, opening up an entirely new revenue and partnership channel.

By combining a clinically validated, AI-driven platform with a savvy market entry strategy, Respiree is not just selling a device; it is positioning itself as an essential partner in the shift towards more proactive, predictive, and patient-centric healthcare for chronic conditions like congestive heart failure and COPD.