Funding will support the development of a wearable labor monitoring system designed to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Research Foundation’s (UTRF) Accelerate Fund has invested in PreTeL, Inc., a Tennessee based medical device startup developing wearable sensors that help physicians distinguish true labor from false labor, monitor labor progression, and guide the safe dosing of labor-inducing medication.
Developed at the UT Health Sciences by Dr. Roger Young, an OB-GYN and professor, PreTeL’s wearable labor monitoring technology has the potential to reduce unnecessary cesarean deliveries and provide clinicians with more accurate information to support timely interventions during labor, improving outcomes for both mothers and babies.
UTRF filed several patent applications related to the technology that ultimately issued as three U.S. patents. UTRF licensed the intellectual property to PreTeL in 2015. Since its founding, PreTeL has raised more than $1.6 million in non-dilutive (SBIR) funding and $1.5 million in seed-stage dilutive funding.
Launched in 2023, UTRF’s Accelerate Fund provides pre-seed and seed investment to support high-potential startups that bring UT innovations to market. Previous investments include Orion Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology startup developing next-generation RNA medicines through a novel drug delivery platform, and VisualizAI, an artificial intelligence company developing tools to help health care providers streamline claims processing. PreTeL is the Accelerate Fund’s third investment.
“UTRF is pleased to support PreTeL through an investment from the Accelerate Fund. This investment underscores our commitment to backing great ideas that can have a tremendous impact in the marketplace,” said UTRF President and CEO Maha Krishnamurthy. “I want to thank the Accelerate Fund’s Investment Advisory Committee members for their guidance and feedback during the evaluation and investment process.”
PreTeL also previously received a $50,000 cash prize for winning first place in PYA’s 2025 Ballard Innovation Award.
“I am grateful for the support from UTRF and the Tennessee entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Marc Finch, PreTeL’s CEO. “This technology is extremely important for saving both infants’ and mothers’ lives within a very underfunded area in the very competitive healthcare technology space. This investment increases our visibility across the Southeast and helps position us for future fundraising as we continue advancing this important technology.”
With this investment, PreTeL plans to complete its regulatory assessment and begin clinical trials as it advances the technology toward commercialization.
About the University of Tennessee Research Foundation
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) is a nonprofit organization that supports the commercialization of UT innovations, fosters entrepreneurship, and advances research, education, and economic development to benefit the people of Tennessee and beyond. Although legally separate from UT, UTRF works closely with faculty, staff, and students across the UT System to help translate research and innovation into products and services that improve lives and benefit society.
About PreTeL, Inc.
PreTeL, Inc. is a private, US-based Femtech company recognized for its innovative work in novel uterine electromyography (uEMG) signal detection and AI enabled intelligent analysis for the large maternal fetal medicine markets of both remote and hospital care. The company’s proprietary “Area Sensor” platform is being developed for early warning monitoring for pregnancies that may result in spontaneous preterm birth, labor and delivery care, and the personalized dosing of Pitocin during labor induction to optimize pregnancy care of both mother and baby. For more information, please visit www.pretelhealth.com.