Second Heart raises ¥9.98M on FUNDINNO to fight diabetic foot amputations
What's the deal? Kyoto-based healthtech startup Second HeartDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → raised 9,975,000 JPY (≈$62,111) in a seed round via equity crowdfunding platform FUNDINNODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, closing on July 23, 2026. Fifty investors backed the round, which hit 200% of its 4,987,500 JPY target.
What's the endgame? The company aims to eliminate diabetic foot amputations. Its remote foot-check service, Steplife, lets patients photograph and log their feet via smartphone and share the data with clinicians for early detection of complications.
Why now? Second Heart's traction is climbing. Steplife is used at 10 domestic medical facilities on a paid basis, with about 1,400 registered patients, and first-quarter revenue rose to roughly four times the prior full year.
By the numbers: Japan has about 10 million diabetes patients, and one person loses a foot to diabetes roughly every 20 seconds worldwide, per the IWGDF. Founder and chief executive officer Yukihiro IshidaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a clinical engineer for 21 years, says preventing amputation protects "walking, working, and living with family."
Where the money goes: Funds will support research and development of Steplife and a digital tuning fork — a Class II medical device that screens for peripheral nerve damage in about 30 seconds — plus expansion across ASEAN, starting in Malaysia. There, Second Heart has signed a memorandum with the social security body PERKESO and partnered academically with Universiti Putra Malaysia.
What could go wrong? Overseas rollout carries execution risk: the company must build local operations, localise products, and secure public support in new markets while scaling domestically. Second Heart notes its spending plan may change with business conditions.
The signal: The raise reflects a quick re-raise pattern and rising investor appetite for prevention-focused healthtech targeting Asia's growing chronic-disease burden. APAC diabetic-foot-related medical costs run about $77 billion annually, and Malaysia's adult diabetes prevalence sits near 21.1% — a market Second Heart is positioning as central to its growth.
Read more: PR TIMES
Image credit: Second Heart
