LatchAid: A Smart, Scalable, and Accessible Solution to Support Breastfeeding and Early Parenthood Journey

英国是全球母乳喂养率最低的国家[2]（所有参考资料见第四季度-附录）尽管81%的母亲开始母乳喂养，但令人遗憾的是，其中90%的母亲因为身体、情感上的痛苦和缺乏支持而放弃了母乳喂养。其开创性的应用程序利用先进的3D可视化技术，帮助用户直观地从3D化身，虚拟支持小组中学习母乳喂养技能，将父母连接到紧密的点对点支持网络，以及人工智能驱动的虚拟支持者聊天机器人，利用1-1现场专家聊天，为用户提供个性化的专业知识和陪伴24/7。通过3个成功的创新英国资助项目，包括妇女创新奖，LatchAid已在Apple AppStore推出（在医疗类别中排名第46位），吸引了来自6大洲20个国家的活跃用户，并正在与英国12个NHS信托基金和VirginCare进行试点研究。该项目的主要动机是扩大我们改变游戏规则的研发：多平台和多语言开发可扩展、强大的全天候虚拟支持平台准确、多样的3D母乳喂养动画和AR全面的AI知识库情感AI和多响应动作系统：人工智能驱动的虚拟伴侣到2025年，女性健康市场的价值估计将超过500亿美元。LatchAid拥有1亿用户的潜在市场。我们的愿景是成为全球市场的领导者，并成为母乳喂养和育儿支持应用程序。（针对医疗机构、企业和保险公司）和B2C（针对母亲，准母亲）商业模式，我们的目标是到2025年占领20-30%的英国市场，同时扩展到英语国家和世界其他地区。我们的团队包括奥斯卡/英国电影学院奖获奖的3D团队、世界一流的软件/人工智能开发人员、商业团队（数字健康方面的专业知识）、临床团队（顶级婴儿喂养、孕产妇健康专家）以及多学科咨询委员会，以确保成功的研发和商业交付。我们的团队在性别、种族和文化背景方面具有多样性。我们的目标是通过股权投资、创新贷款和产品收入为我们的加速增长提供资金。股权投资和产品收入将为我们的商业和运营活动提供资金。创新贷款对快速跟踪我们的产品研发至关重要，以确保B2B商业交易，获得英国市场主导地位，并扩展到国际市场。LatchAid的创新解决方案将带来积极/重大的健康，经济，环境和社会影响。到2028财政年度，其经济增长有可能创造112倍的投资回报率和90多个就业岗位。

The UK has the worst breastfeeding rate globally [2] (All references in Q4-appendix) Although 81% of mothers initiated breastfeeding, regrettably 90% of them gave up before they wanted to because of physical, emotional pains and lack of support.LatchAid is an award-winning FemTech start-up. Its pioneering app utilises cutting-edge 3D visualisation technology to help users learn breastfeeding skills intuitively from 3D avatars, virtual support groups to connect parents to a close-knit peer-to-peer support network, and an AI-powered virtual supporter chatbot, leveraging 1-1 live expert chats, to provide users with personalised expertise and companionship 24/7.Through 3 successful Innovate UK funded projects including the Women in Innovation Award, LatchAid has launched at Apple AppStore (peaked at No.46 in the medical category), attracted active users from 20 countries across 6 continents, and are running pilot studies with 12 NHS trusts & VirginCare across the UK.The main motivation of this project is to expand our game-changing R&D:Multi-platform & multi-language developmentScalable, robust, 24/7 virtual support platformAccurate, diverse 3D breastfeeding animations & ARComprehensive AI knowledge baseSentiment AI & multi-response action system:AI-powered virtual companionThe women's health market is estimated to be worth over $50-billion by 2025. LatchAid has a total addressable market of 100m users. Our vision is to become the global market leader and go-to breastfeeding and parenthood support app.Through B2B (targeting healthcare organisations, corporates, and insurers) and B2C (targeting mothers, mothers-to-be) business models, we aim to capture 20-30% of the UK market by 2025 while expanding to English speaking countries and the rest of the world.LatchAid has a strong technical (including Oscar/BAFTA award-winning 3D crew, world-class software/AI developers), commercial (expertise in digital health), and clinical teams (top infant-feeding, maternal health experts) and a multidisciplinary advisory board for successful R&D and commercial delivery. Our team is diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity and heritage.We aim to fund our accelerated growth through equity investment , innovation loan, and product revenues. The equity investment and product revenue will fund our commercial and operational activities.The innovation loan is critical to fast track our product R&D to secure B2B commercial deals, gain UK market domination, and expand to the international market.LatchAid's innovative solutions will deliver positive/significant health, economic, environmental, and societal impacts. Its economic growth has the potential to create a 112-times Return on Investment and over 90 employed jobs by FY2028.