COVID-19 as a Chance: 8 Startups that Appeared and Grew Because of Pandemic

Of course, the coronavirus became a devastating factor for the entire world. Everything from personal finance to international relationships and global economies suffered from this serious disease.

For startups, COVID-19 pandemic consequences are mostly worse than average. However, there are companies showing positive dynamics in their development.

The need is the main reason for the invention. From this viewpoint, the coronavirus is the father of multiple innovations in such branches as healthcare and personal safety. Desperate times require desperate measures. Flexible companies ready to introduce quick changes are the businesses winning the capital race of the current 2020 reality.

Particular organizations directing funds to raise such businesses do exist. For instance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $125 million for research.

When it comes to COVID-19 startups, many crazy ideas may come to mind. However, below we’ll concentrate on those more useful and realistic.

Here are 8 startups that emerged because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Co-train.space

This is the app solving two problems typical for people during lockdowns. They are the deficiency of social contacts and the lack of physical activity.

With Co-train.space, users can choose any exercising YouTube video they would like to try. Then, it is possible to share that video with friends. After that, all users will see their friends and the exercise guide on their screen. So, they can start group exercising. The solution is perfect for people willing to stay active even during quarantines but feeling too bored working out solo.

Blue Ocean Robotics

Robots can’t get infected with biological agents. This means a robot is perfect to work in a COVID-19 hospital and keep in touch with people on lockdown.

Blue Ocean Robotics develops a bunch of autonomous robotized product lines, including UVD robots. These automated disinfection robots help to kill viruses and bacteria in hospitals with the use of UV-rays. The company’s sales grew by 400% yearly since they first appeared in the market two years ago.

The startup got its biggest order for 100 robots right in the Chinese epidemic storm, and they continue getting orders. A single robot costs about 60 000 euros, but the demand is high because the expenses for every medical worker infected by COVID-19 reach 300 000 euros.

Blue Ocean Robotics is an excellent illustration of the “catch the moment” phrase. Most probably, their sales will decrease after the pandemic will stop ravaging all over the planet, but they’ll definitely earn enough to launch other timely projects. 

Quin

It’s a startup from Berlin that gathered a modest $50K during the pre-seed stage. It is called to help millennials. Just like hiring an essay writer helps students save time and simultaneously care about their grades, Quin would help young people secure their financial future. The innovative app tracks and optimizes individual ETF (exchange-traded funds) portfolios. Make your money work more efficiently!

SkyCell

SkyCell develops smart containers to support stable environmental conditions for storing medical supplies. Almost all cures require particular humidity and temperature. It seems that the concept is extremely wanted on the market because MVM Partners already invested over 60 million dollars in SkyCell.

Glasses to Reveal COVID-19 by Rokid

The Chinese AI startup has been developing VR/AR glasses since 2014. Nowadays, they adapted their technology to fight against the pandemic that stroke the country’s economy seriously. In addition to controlling body temperature metrics, smart glasses also offer IoT solutions for ID face scanning and data management. The main task of Rokid T1 is to assist businesses, hospitals, and law enforcement institutions to reveal the coronavirus infection.  

Kry

Available in Spain, France, Sweden, and Norway, Kry is the most downloaded app for doctors in Europe. No wonder the number of downloads grew up significantly due to the extremely intense job schedules of family doctors. They downloaded Kry 61% more times compared to the previous year.

A spectacular fact: the number of consultations about virus symptoms increased by more than 240%. Because of its fast growth, the startup even launched new products. For instance, they offer free coronavirus symptoms’ check procedure.

Nevertheless, the extremely rapid growth is not always smooth. Kry had to invest lots of effort to hire more staff to satisfy the extremely high demand for their services. 

Tomorrow Health

Recently, this startup won the seed round of 7.5 million dollars from Andreessen Horowitz investors. The startup aims to solve troubles and questions appearing when a patient requires home-based treatment.

The company wants to simplify the process of providing home stationary patients with such vital goods as wheelchairs, lung ventilation devices, and other medical care supplies. They connect insurance companies with clients to provide transparent and safe purchasing and maintenance of medical care equipment and expendables.