VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- VodaSafe, the safety technology company behind the world’s first hand-held scanning sonar device for water-based search and rescue, AquaEye®, today announces $1.4M in seed financing. The raise will help VodaSafe further expand the availability of AquaEye® throughout Canada and the United States.
The raise is led by Vanedge with participation from BDC, two Canadian venture capital firms that have funded successful hardware technology companies including Echodyne, Recon Instruments, SpaceX, and TouchBistro.
“We are on a mission to make the difficult process of water rescue and recovery as quick, simple and effective as possible,” said Carlyn Loncaric, Founder and CEO of VodaSafe. “We built this technology from the ground up because every second counts in a water rescue situation. AquaEye® enables rescuers to quickly assess a scene and identify potential victims within seconds of entering the water.”
The hand-held sonar device, AquaEye® uses the latest ultrasound and artificial intelligence technologies to provide groundbreaking water rescue response. AquaEye® is specifically designed to be portable, durable, and easy to use for emergency response teams to aid in the rescue and recovery of missing persons.
“VodaSafe’s mission is something that we were immediately able to get behind - saving lives,” said Amy Rae, Principal at Vanedge Capital. “Carlyn and the VodaSafe team have developed innovative new technology that we are excited to support by seeking increasing safety standards at summer camps and bodies of water, we hope that we are doing our part in improving water safety standards in North America - if you have a whistle and PFD, you will also have an AquaEye®.”
AquaEye®’s ultrasound and artificial intelligence technology is unparalleled with the ability to conduct a 360 degree scan in as little as 3-5 minutes with a search area coverage of 85,000 square feet or nearly two acres. AquaEye® is providing first-of-its-kind technology to search and rescue teams, fire departments, police forces, summer camps and other water-related groups across North America.
“We have used AquaEye® in a recovery situation in which we were able to help bring closure to a family in a matter of minutes. In our opinion, AquaEye® will not only help many families but also keep those willing to sacrifice themselves to help bring our loved ones home, safer,” said Mike Fugate, President of The BMF Project and AquaEye® customer.
VodaSafe’s AquaEye® is currently available through Barrier Waterman in the United States, and through the Lifesaving Society, or directly through VodaSafe, in Canada.
For more information, visit www.vodasafe.ca.
About VodaSafe: VodaSafe is the North American leader in modern water based rescue technologies for search and rescue, emergency responders, lifeguards, and recreational users to aid in lifesaving and recovery efforts. Born from the intersection of engineering and lifeguarding on the West Coast of Canada, VodaSafe’s flagship product, AquaEye®, is the world’s first hand-held scanning sonar device that utilizes ultrasound and artificial intelligence technologies for water rescue and recovery. For more information, visit: www.vodasafe.ca
About Vanedge: Vanedge Capital is a Vancouver based early-stage venture capital fund investing in technology inflection points in emerging hard tech, analytics and computational biology. As entrepreneurs and investors, we have built and led world-class companies using a unique combination of operating leadership and management; subject matter expertise; technology networks; relationships with technology, creative, and management talent. Vanedge has over $300M in assets under management. To learn more, visit: www.vanedgecapital.com
