InteliCare seeks to bring its AI-based aged care monitoring technology to the ASX
InteliCare is looking to raise $5.5m via its IPO.
Perth-based InteliCare is planning to list on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker ‘ICR’, and is confident it will be one of the “dominant” players in the aged care monitoring market as more people opt to grow old in the comfort of their own home.
The Australian company has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can support the growing desire for abled and disabled people to live independently.
Speaking with Small Caps, the company’s chief executive officer Jason Waller said the system works by tracking common movements and behaviours at home.
“We turn any home into a smart home by installing a range of passive sensors, then connect to an internet of things. We run the data through an AI engine then over the period of a week see what normal domestic behaviour looks like.”
The data is then collected and through the system’s app, the care giver receives regular updates on a person’s wellbeing.
According to Mr Waller, the onset of COVID-19 makes the company’s system more crucial than ever.
“It allows caregivers to reduce the level of face-to face interaction which may become a transition pathway and for families to monitor people who are self-isolating.”
Unlike home security systems which rely on cameras, Mr Waller said InteliCare offers peace of mind and privacy.
“People don’t want cameras. People don’t like the feeling they’re being watched, which is why our system works very well.”
“The sensors are passive – they’re just really on or off and therefore we don’t cross that threshold of invading people’s privacy.”
A new market leader
Mr Waller said while pendants and duress alarms have been the mainstay for years, he’s confident Intelicare has an innovative product to be a major force in the market.
“It’s very much an emerging market. The dominant technology in this space are the pendants and duress systems that are worn around people’s necks, which is what people turn to when they have mum and dad ageing in their own home.”
“Unfortunately, they’re not effective. In 80% of falls, people don’t use them, or they’re not charged, or they don’t wear them because it makes them feel old. And in 30% of those falls, they didn’t press it even when it was serviceable,” Mr Waller added.
“I think we’ll be able to dominate against that pendant market. There are other players in this field looking at smart home technology. Largely they are coming out of sensor manufacturing or the security industry. They tend to be closed architecture and therefore are limited or they’re targeting B2B or B2C. We straddle both of those industries very effectively.”
Launching an IPO amid COVID-19
After an internal restructure last year, Mr Waller said he was brought in, to apply his “ASX experience” and commercialise InteliCare’s technology.
That means raising $5.5 million dollars via the issue of 27.5 million shares at $0.20 each – launching the IPO on 16 March against the backdrop of the global pandemic.
“It has been difficult going into the ‘eye of the storm’, but because the product is well understood by everyone, whether it’s brokers or clients, we’ve found a great reception in the market to raise those funds,” Mr Waller said.
According to InteliCare, while it’s been a daring task to raise capital against the pandemic, it seems the telehealth industry is one exception to the rule.
“The overall effect of COVID-19 for a company like us and others in the telehealth industry is going to be net positive,” Mr Waller said.
“There has been an acceleration of telehealth and the adoption of in-home assisted technology and secondly this crisis has highlighted you don’t want to be in a nursing home, or in aged-care residence. The strong preference is to age in their home and people are coming to that realisation.”
And while InteliCare is in its early commercialisation stages, demand for the product since launching has grown.
“We’ve seen a significant uptick in enquiries from retail clients and businesses.”
“Although we are WA based, we are rolling 100 systems in Victoria and the IPO funds will increase the sales expansion.”
“I would encourage any investors to get on board quickly, the book is open and has been well responded to,” Mr Waller said.
He added the company has been able to raise above 80% of its target so far.