Tellus You Care Godo Kaisha

The palm-sized device is designed to be easy to use and install. “We created a small device so that it didn’t feel intrusive for our customers. It serves as an assistant for all caregivers, automatically logging critical care information to save time for caregivers and improve the standard of care in general." says Mr. Caldwell. Just by plugging into an electric outlet, the system can be used over WiFi or cellular connections. In addition to making it easier for caregivers to monitor the health status remotely, the data collected by the radar provides a highly accurate view of a someone’s day, being able to monitor activities in their whole room as opposed to most other sensors which can only capture data while the resident is in their bed. This can be a solution that reduces the psychological and physical burden on both the elderly and the caregivers.

At the time of its founding, the company enlisted the help of Phil Libin, former CEO of Evernote, a software company, and co-founder of All Turtles, an AI startup based in San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo. He encouraged Kevin Hsu and Tania A. Coke, co-founders of Tellus You Care, to test their ideas in Japan, where seniors aged 65 and over accounted for 28.4% of the population and 12.9% of the workforce in 2018, hitting a record high. This is because success in Japan, which is facing the challenge of aging, may lead to success in other countries that are also transitioning to a super-aging society.

In addition, while China and other countries are larger in terms of market size alone, they chose Japan because the national and local governments are focusing on supporting innovation in the field of elderly care in care facilities and at home. "There are various reasons to expand into the Japanese market, including the aging population of the society and the insurance system in Japan," says Mr. Caldwell. "In particular, the national and local governments are putting a lot of effort into elderly care and there are many subsidy systems available. We were able to obtain various support such as introductions to facilities, access to robotics expertise and gain support from the prefectures that provide subsidies for eldercare technology. The advantage of doing business in Japan is that the national and local governments have good support systems in this field."

In March 2019, NTT DoCoMo Ventures discovered the company and invested in it. Subsequently, the company expanded its network through introductions by NTT DoCoMo, and it has been able to reach out to many customers. Mr. Caldwell describes the importance of VC/CVC partners, the source of fund procurement. "They provide feedback on products and sales as well as advice on the Japanese market. Such information is valuable and appreciated."

In July 2019, NTT DoCoMo and Kobe City took the lead in a month-long demonstration of Tellus You Care solutions at Yamate Sakura-en, a special nursing home for the elderly located in the center of Kobe City. While Kobe City has been focusing on innovation in the medical and healthcare fields, it has one of the highest rates of aging population and the elderly single-person households among ordinance-designated cities. As non-technical benefits from this demonstration, Mr. Caldwell notes that plenty of opportunities to interact with the facilities as well as the elderly end-users has gradually dispelled their fears of radar technology, deepened their understanding of the innovation, and improved their knowledge and ability to properly use the new technology.

With the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has been ongoing since the end of 2019, it inspired Tellus to apply their AI as a solution to detect coughing, one of the symptoms of COVID-19 based on changes in the respiratory waveform. It has highlighted the need for new technologies for at-risk elderly people living alone, and the company is moving forward with the development combining the enthusiasm for healthcare and technology in order to quickly provide telehealth, telemedicine, and practical health information and data.

Today, Tellus devices are installed at facilities in several prefectures around Japan. “Some of the facilities we work with have shared that the Tellus system has helped them to proactively identify dangerous behaviors and situations that would have been difficult to notice before. These same facilities actively use the data that Tellus provides to inform their care plans, enabling data-driven care to be provided to residents.”

The process of clearing the Standards of the Radio Law, such as the acquisition of the Technical Standards Conformity Certification (GITEKI), was smoother than originally anticipated. On the other hand, the business plan was affected by the COVID-19 crisis. One example is that the company had to adapt when it got rid of its physical Tokyo office and switched to remote work. However, Mr. Caldwell comments that the staff members who had never met in person responded cooperatively as well. “We looked at ways that we could still have fun together online, and outside of State of Emergencies we tried to organize regular social events together. Despite the chaos and challenges that COVID-19 have introduced, together our team has been able to make it this far.”

Upon expanding its Japanese base, JETRO's Invest Japan Business Support Center (IBSC) lent temporary office space, provided market information, consultation on tax, and PR support, introduced service providers (lawyers and tax accountants), and arranged business matchings.