Amulet, Maker of Pocket-Sized Food Allergen Sensor, Raises $6 Million in Series A Funding

MADISON, Wis. — Amulet announced $5.8 million in Series A financing led by HealthX Ventures, with participation from Incite Ventures, AllerFund, Mendota Venture Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital and individuals like e-commerce pioneer Pinterest executive and Daydream founder Julie Bornstein and serial founder and investor Diede van Lamoen. Amulet equips individuals and businesses with portable sensors containing rapid, on-site molecular detection technology that helps keep food safe from allergens, toxins and contaminants.

With this new round of funding, Amulet is well-positioned to scale its team, expand its detection portfolio and execute a full product launch to serve the Amulet waitlist, the company said. 

Amulet is the company behind Allergy Amulet, a consumer brand with a signature wearable that enables people to test for food allergens on the go, and Amulet Scientific, a commercial brand with a detection platform that empowers restaurants, suppliers, manufacturers and other food industry businesses to identify a range of molecular targets like food toxins and environmental contaminants.

"Amulet's technology has the potential to improve the safety of our food systems and, by extension, the health and well-being of millions," said Abigail Barnes, founder and CEO of Amulet. "From gluten to glyphosate in our food and soil, this funding will allow us to deploy rapid detection for both consumers and businesses to help ensure a safer food supply chain and reduce adverse health outcomes for the food allergy, food intolerant and celiac populations."

Since raising its seed financing in 2020, Amulet has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Over the last few months, Amulet has built a product team to lead its commercialization. Recent hires include:

• Michelle Wu, head of product: Wu has more than 20 years of experience in the health and wellness, medical device and technology industries, overseeing more than 50 teams through various phases of human-centered medical device, technology and in-vitro diagnostics development.
• Barkley Jenny, vice president of product: Jenny has launched more than 100 products for mission-driven brands and brings extensive experience in supply chain logistics and operations to Amulet's product team. He previously worked with companies like Danone and HealthyBaby supply chains.

Amulet recently secured its second patent. The company's work in electrochemical food sensors unlocks new in-field detection capabilities in food safety.

Amulet also recently became a benefit corporation, underscoring its commitment to serving all company stakeholders and aligning its work with its mission to enhance global food safety, the company said.

"We strive to support digital innovations that make healthcare easier and more affordable,” said Mark Bakken of HealthX Ventures. “There's no doubt that what Amulet is creating is a much-needed product for the hundreds of millions globally managing food allergies, celiac disease, food intolerances, and the countless businesses that strive to serve them. We look forward to supporting Amulet through this next stage of growth as they bring their innovation to market."

Even in trace amounts, food allergies can be fatal, causing someone to rush to the ER every three minutes because of food allergen exposure. Amulet's technology has the potential to raise the bar for transparency in our food supply chain:

• For individuals: In the U.S., approximately 33 million individuals manage food allergies, and an estimated 40 million are gluten-avoidant. Allergy Amulet's portable design aims to improve the quality of life for people managing food allergies and intolerances, and those who care for them.
• For businesses: Allergen cross-contact at food service establishments is responsible for nearly half of fatal food allergy reactions, and contaminants that trigger food recalls cost companies millions of dollars in direct costs and incalculable reputational damage. Amulet Scientific enables companies and restaurants to better control both risks.
• For global health: Together, Allergy Amulet and Amulet Scientific help tackle the consumer and commercial sources of food poisoning, which causes 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually; undetected contaminants, which cause widespread illness and thousands of deaths globally annually; and food allergen exposure, which causes 30,000 ER visits annually.

"We are excited to see how Amulet's flexible technology helps manage a growing problem for individuals and businesses to enhance food safety in a multitude of settings," said Lisa Strovink of AllerFund, the first venture capital firm with a focus on the food allergy community. "This product will provide valuable information for the tens of millions of people navigating life with food allergies and intolerances."

"Amulet's food-focused mission straddles so many lanes of global health, making its potential for widescale impact an exciting vision to support," said Swati Mylavarapu, founder and managing partner of Incite Ventures. "By tackling food safety, one of the most fundamental pillars of health, Amulet has the power to make the world a better place — one allergen test at a time.”