“Vignesh, imagine diagnosing complex gastrointestinal disorders with the same ease as reading an ECG for the heart, but for the gut.” That was the bold vision Prof. Greg O’Grady and Dr. Armen Gharibans shared with John Kells and me back in 2021 when they first walked us through their fledgling startup Alimetry during the ‘Cloud 9’ investor evening. While we did not invest in Alimetry at that point, fast forward to 2024, and we at GD1 are thrilled to announce that we’ve led Alimetry’s $30M Series A Expansion Round, alongside existing investors IP Group, Auckland UniServices, Movac, K1W1, and new investors Icehouse Ventures, Olympus Innovation Ventures, and Australian Superannuation Fund Hostplus, among others. I’m personally excited to join Alimetry’s board and want to thank Greg and Armen for trusting and choosing GD1 to lead this consequential round that is poised to materially accelerate the company’s goals. The future of gastroenterology diagnostics is here, and it’s only just getting started.

Why Are We Excited About Alimetry?

Revolutionizing Gastroenterology with a Non-Invasive Diagnostic Solution

In the U.S. alone, there were over 3.5 million visits to gastroenterologists in 2022, with patients reporting symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, and indigestion. These high-need patients often face repeated hospitalizations and long, costly diagnostic journeys. Globally, gastric dysfunction represents a staggering $136 billion healthcare burden annually — exceeding the costs of heart disease and trauma.

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Yet despite the enormity of the problem, the gut remains a mystery. Diagnosing gastrointestinal disorders is notoriously difficult, with no definitive tests and a reliance on invasive procedures like endoscopies or slow trial-and-error methods. The origins of abdominal pain can range from neuro-muscular issues to food allergies, gut chemistry, or even psychosomatic factors, leaving clinicians frustrated and patients in prolonged discomfort.

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Until now.

Alimetry’s groundbreaking solution is a wireless reader + flexible array of sensors placed on the abdomen to monitor the electrical signals of the gut during gastric emptying. Paired with a patient facing app that ingests patient reported outcomes in real-time during a gastric emptying test, this system data-fuses the aforementioned signals and provides a rich insight into potential causal reasons for why a patient is experiencing a certain set of symptoms. Essentially, Alimetry is an ‘ECG for the gut’, and more specifically an electrogram focussed on body surface gastric mapping. This non-invasive test gives gastroenterologists an accurate, real-time diagnostic tool that helps, among other things, pinpoint potential neuro-muscular causes of gastrointestinal distress, cutting through the guesswork and speeding up treatment pathways. It’s a game changer for clinicians and patients alike.

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While a Gastric Alimetry Test does take several hours, the user experience is clear, seamless, and effortless, and as Lead Investor of the Series A Expansion round I took great pleasure in undertaking the test myself. A truly great patient experience, although the requisite ingestion of an Ensure drink and Cliff bar as a ‘meal’ to trigger the gastric emptying are the only things I have any qualms about during the testing experience.

Jokes aside, during our due diligence, we heard rave reviews from doctors using the device:

“There is no comparator for what Alimetry has provided us. There’s a black hole in gastroenterology diagnostics, and Alimetry fills that gap with a truly innovative and unique solution.”

“If the public system stops funding Alimetry, I would feel like I’ve gone backwards in my ability to treat patients.”

This feedback was unanimous and it was rare to have near universal praise for a technology so early in its journey.

World-Leading Intellectual Property and Innovation

What makes Alimetry stand out even more is the depth of expertise behind it. Prof. Greg O’Grady and Dr. Armen Gharibans are world leaders in gastrointestinal research, having spent over 10 years honing the science behind the device at the University of Auckland and University of California, San Diego. Alimetry’s device is the first of its kind, protected by a robust IP portfolio that includes design and utility patents around the reader and sensor array, plus the electrode path and connection system — an aspect of device design and integration that other research groups and competitors have yet to crack. This is supplemented by trade secrets in the form of software source code and trademarks and a growing and deep data moat that is driving unique insights and outcomes analysis. The innovation pipeline is massive, and the concordant data insights gleaned from the Alimetry technology equally so.

Deeptech with Velocity

At GD1, we look for founders with what we call “velocity of progress” — and Greg, Armen, and the Alimetry team exemplify this in spades. From inception to becoming one of New Zealand’s standout deep tech success stories, Alimetry has consistently hit milestones ahead of schedule. Along the way, they’ve collected multiple awards, including the prestigious Callaghan Arohia Trailblazer Grant, and attracted top-tier talent, partners, and customers globally.

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These external points of validation and recognition, along with regulatory and reimbursement progress — which frankly has been nothing short of astounding whereby they have not only rapidly expanded indications of the beachhead product and the roadmap, but also have rapidly progressed up the CPT reimbursement ladder — have enabled it to attract high-quality talent, customers, partners and investors both locally and offshore.

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This breakneck execution speed and technical prowess remind us of high-growth SaaS companies, despite Alimetry operating in a complex and regulated space. Alimetry’s culture is one of relentless innovation and progress, and we’re proud to back a team that knows how to get things done in what is a typically antiquated industry.

A Platform for Accelerated Growth

The future looks incredibly bright for Alimetry. Recently, they were assigned CPT reimbursement codes by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the US, enabling hospitals and clinics in the U.S. to claim reimbursement for using the Alimetry system. With early adoption already taking place in over 40 hospitals and clinics and coverage from major insurers like Aetna and Blue Cross, these new CPT codes set the stage for even greater expansion in the U.S. market.

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Alimetry’s mission is to provide widespread access to better diagnostic tools for patients suffering from debilitating gastrointestinal disorders, and we’re excited to help them scale this vision globally.

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We’re thrilled to be on this journey with Alimetry, and we want to thank Greg and Armen for trusting GD1 and me to lead this latest round. The future of gastroenterology diagnostics is here, and it’s only just getting started.

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