An Australian medical device startup building an all-in-one cardiac testing kit for home use said it raised $6 million in a seed round on September 24, 2026, twice what it originally sought and backed entirely by physicians betting their own money on the venture.
Lubdub.ai, based in Perth, declined to name the doctors or disclose the company's valuation. The round came in oversubscribed, according to a company statement, and represents what lubdub described as "a first tranche"—language that typically signals more capital waiting in the wings.
The backing carries symbolic weight. In a LinkedIn post, the startup thanked "the physicians who sit with patients every day and backed us with their own money, welcoming us into their world." Whether those investors are cardiologists, general practitioners, or some mix of specialists remains unclear.
What lubdub is building is ambitious, perhaps more so than its modest headcount of fewer than 10 employees might suggest. The company's platform combines three diagnostic tools on a single AI-driven device: a wearable ECG patch using what it calls "novel dry electrodes" that skip the conductive gel, a saliva test detecting five cardiac biomarkers within minutes, and a hands-free ultrasound transducer for real-time heart imaging. The idea is to let patients run comprehensive cardiac tests at home while specialists review results remotely.
Lubdub previously raised A$450,000 in equity, according to a company year-end recap, and secured roughly A$476,900 in grants from Western Australian government health and innovation programs—A$436,900 from the FHRI Fund and A$40,000 from the Innovation Booster Grant. Total disclosed funding now sits around A$6.5 million.
A Cardiologist, an Award Winner, and a Sensor Scientist
The founding team mixes clinical credibility with engineering firepower. Prof. Girish Dwivedi is a consultant cardiologist at Fiona Stanley Hospital and holds the Wesfarmers Chair of Cardiology at the University of Western Australia. Dr. Nikhilesh Bappoo co-founded vascular device maker VeinTech and recently won the Prime Minister's Prize for New Innovators. Prof. Sharath Sriram, a biosensor researcher at RMIT University, rounds out the technical side. Jamie Davison, who co-founded accounting firm Carbon Group, handles finances as CFO.
Dwivedi was named Western Australia's Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year. Sriram appears as co-inventor on RMIT patents covering saliva-based biosensors for cardiovascular biomarkers, including a U.S. application describing conductometric detection methods and academic work detailing rapid saliva tests for cardiac and inflammatory markers.
The company operates from the Herdsman MedTech Innovation Hub in Osborne Park, which it co-founded with VeinTech, and maintains a Melbourne presence through RMIT's Discovery-to-Device prototyping lab.
In recent social media posts, lubdub said it had achieved "stable, high-quality ECG signal capture" from units assembled in Perth and was advancing ultrasound transducer development while approaching clinical trial stages. No regulatory submissions to Australia's TGA, the FDA, or European authorities have been announced publicly.
Crowded Field, Novel Angle
Lubdub enters a market thick with AI-enhanced cardiac diagnostics, though its three-test combo distinguishes it from single-modality competitors. IRhythm's Zio patch dominates remote ECG monitoring with FDA-cleared algorithms. AliveCor sells consumer and professional devices through its Kardia platform. Eko Health, which raised funding recently for a foundation model analyzing heart sounds, holds multiple FDA clearances for AI-detected murmurs and atrial fibrillation.
On the ultrasound front, GE HealthCare acquired Caption Health in early 2023 for its AI-guided imaging tech aimed at expanding access beyond hospital settings. UltraSight secured FDA clearance for AI guidance in cardiac ultrasound, and handheld device makers Butterfly Network and Exo have rolled out AI features.
The saliva biomarker piece appears less commercially developed, though academic interest has grown. RMIT's patent activity and Sriram's peer-reviewed work on rapid detection suggest the science is advancing, even if widespread commercial adoption lags.
Access as Motivation
Dwivedi has framed the venture in stark terms. Writing on the Heart Foundation's project page, he described young patients arriving at his clinic with advanced heart disease that went undetected for years. Basic diagnostic tests that should be universally accessible in Australia, he argued, simply aren't.
Bappoo told UWA News he envisions specialists evaluating heart health remotely using ultra-thin wearables and saliva samples—a vision that aligns with telehealth's post-pandemic momentum but still faces regulatory, reimbursement, and adoption hurdles.
Lubdub landed a spot among the top 10 partners in the Heart Foundation's inaugural Catalyst portfolio under its Heart First initiative, alongside delivery partners South Metropolitan Health Service and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. The company also presented at LSI Asia, supported by a Market Access Grant from the Western Australian government.
How lubdub plans to spend the new capital remains undisclosed, as do any specific hiring targets. For a team of fewer than 10 trying to bring three sensor technologies to market simultaneously, the challenge ahead is considerable.
