Shift Labs (YC W15) Launches Out Of Y Combinator To Make Medical Devices For Healthcare’s Future

by Y Combinator3/16/2015

YC welcomes Shift Labs to the YC W15 batch: 

Shift Labs is a small startup launching this spring out of Y Combinator with a lofty tagline: to be “the Nest of medical devices.” But as ambitious as that goal may sound at first, when you take a closer look at Shift Labs, it doesn’t sound that crazy after all. In fact, it seems almost inevitable.

If you’ve spent any time in a hospital, you’ve likely noticed that a lot of the equipment around looks pretty complicated, with an array of buttons, knobs, screens, inputs and outputs. That’s largely because medical device manufacturers have historically built their products by focusing on form way before function. If usability and design are even considered, it’s an afterthought at best.

Of course, some degree of complexity in medical devices is understandable. These aren’t iPods we’re talking about, after all. But the founders at Shift Labs say there’s often an ulterior issue at play as well: profits.”

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  • Y Combinator

    Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Twice a year we invest a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200). The startups move to Silicon