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Fertility tech startup Mojo is coming out of stealth to announce a €1.7 million (~$1.8M) seed round of funding led by Nordic seed fund Inventure. Also participating are Doberman and Privilege Ventures (an investor in Ava), plus a number of angel investors including Josefin Landgard (founder and ex-CEO of Kry) and Hampus Jakobsson (partner at BlueYard, BA in Clue & Kind.app).

Mojo’s mission, says co-founder and CEO Mohamed Taha, is to make access to fertility treatment more affordable and accessible by using AI and robotics technology to assist in sperm and egg quality analysis, selection and fertilization to reduce costs for clinics. Only by reducing clinics’ costs will the price fall for couples, he suggests.

“What the AI does in our technology stack from now until our roadmap is completed, product wise, is to look at sperm, look at eggs, look at data and ensure that the woman or the couple get precise treatment or the precise embryo that yields healthy baby,” he tells TechCrunch. “The role of robotics is to ensure that the manipulations/procedures are done precisely and at reduced time compared to nowadays, and also accurately.”

The idea for the business came to Taha after he was misdiagnosed with a kidney condition while still a student. His doctor suggested freezing his sperm as a precaution against deterioration in case he wanted to father a child in the future, so he started having regular sperm tests. “I was super annoyed with one particular fact,” he says of this. “Every time I do a sperm test I get a different result.”

After speaking to doctors the consensus view of male fertility he heard was “I shouldn’t care about my fertility — worst case scenario all that they need from me is one sperm”. He was told it would be his future partner who would be put on IVF to “take the treatment for me”. Doctors also told him there was little research into male fertility, and therefore into sperm quality — such as which sperm might yield a healthy baby or could result in a miscarriage. And after learning about what IVF entailed, Taha says it struck him as a “tough” deal for the woman.

“It’s completely blackbox,” he says of male fertility. “I also learned that in terms of IVF or ART [assisted reproductive technologies] everything, pretty much, is done manually. And everything, pretty much, also is done at random — you select a random sperm, they fertilize it with a random egg. Hopefully the technician who’s doing it manually knows his or her job. And in the end there’s going to be an embryo that will be implanted.”

He says he was also struck by the fact the ‘trial and error’ process only works 25% of the time in high end laboratories, yet can prospective parents between €40,000-€100,000 for each round of treatment. “This is where the idea of the company came from,” he adds. Mojo’s expectation for their technology is that it will be able to increase IVF success rates to 75% by 2030.

The team started work in 2016 as a weekend project during their PhDs. Taha initially trained as an electrical engineer before going on to do a PhD in nanotechnology, investigating new and affordable materials for use as biosensors. It was the microscopes and robotic arms that he and his co-founders, Fanny Chesa, Tobias Boecker, Daniel Thomas, were using in the labs to examine nanoparticles and select specific particles for insertion into other media that led them to think why not adapt this type of technology for use in fertility clinics — as an alternative to purely manual selection and fertilization.

“We just completely automate everything to ensure that the procedure is done faster, better and at the same time more reliably,” Taha says of the concept for Mojo. “No randomness. Understand the good from the bad.”

That — at least — is the theory. To be clear, they don’t yet have their proposition robustly proved out nor productized at this stage. Their intended first product, called Mojo Pro, is still pending certification as a medical device in the EU, for example. But the plan, should everything go to plan, is to get it to market next summer, starting in the UK.

This product, a combination of microscopy hardware and AI software, will be sold to fertility clinics (under a subscription model) to offer an analysis service consisting of a sperm count and quality check — as a first service for couples to determine whether or not the man has a fertility problem.

Initially, Mojo’s computer vision analysis system is focused on sperm counts, automating what Taha says is currently a manual process, as well as assessing some basic quality signals — such as the speed and morphology of the sperm. For example, a sperm with two heads or two tails would be an easy initial judgement call to weed out as “bad”, he suggests.

“The first product is to look at the sperm and say if this man experiences infertility or not. So we have a smart microscopy — built custom in-house. And this is where the element of the robotics comes in,” he explains. “At the same time we put on it an AI that looks at a moving sperm sample. Then, through looking at this, the system on Mojo Pro will tell us what is the sperm count, what is the sperm mobility (how fast they move) and what is the predominant shape of the sperm.

“The second part is the selection of the sperm [i.e. if the sample is needed for IVF]. Now we ensure that good sperm is being selected. This microscopy will look at the same and visually will guide the embryologist to pick the good sperm — that’s highlighted around, for example, by a green box. Good sperm have green boxes around them, bad sperm have red boxes around them so they can pick up through their current techniques the sperm that are highlighted green.”

Based on internal testing of Mojo Pro the system has achieved 97% of the accuracy of a manual sperm count so far, per Taha, who says further optimization is planned.

Though he admits there’s no standardization of sperm counts in the fertility industry — which means such comparative metrics offer limited utility, given the lack of robust benchmarks.

“The way we are going with this is we’re really choosing the best of the best practitioners and we are just comparing our work against them for now,” is the claim. (Mojo’s lab partner for developing the product is TDL.)

“We will try to introduce new standards for ourselves,” he adds.

The current research focus is: “What are the visuals to make sure the sperm is good or bad; how to actually measure the sperm sample, the sperm count; in terms of morphology… how we can incorporate a protocol that can be the gold standard of computer vision or AI looking at sperm?”

The wider goal for the business is to understand much more about the role that individual sperm and eggs play in yielding a healthy (or otherwise) embryo and baby.

Taha says the team’s ultimate goal is “automating the fertilization process”, again with the help of applied AI and robotics (and likely also incorporating genetic testing to screen for diseases).

He points out that in many markets couples are choosing to conceive later in life. The big vision, therefore, is to develop new assisted reproductive technologies that can support older couples to conceive healthy babies.

“Generally speaking we leave our fertility to chance — which is sex… So there’s a little bit of randomness in the process. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad — it’s how the body functions. But when you hit later ages, 30 or 40, we face biological deficiencies which means the quality of the eggs are not good any more, the quality of the sperm might not be good any more, if fertilization happens with old gametes… you are not sure there is a healthy baby. So we need technology to play a role here.

“Imagine a couple at the age of 40 who want to conceive a baby ten, twelve years from now. What happens if this couple have the possibility of the sperm of the man to be shipped somewhere, the egg of the woman to be shipped somewhere and they get fertilized using high end technology, and they get informed once the embryo is ready to be implanted. This is where we believe the consumer game will be in the future,” he says.

“We envisage ourselves going from just working with clinics in the coming ten years… making our AI and our robotics really flawless at manipulation, and then we are envisaging of having as consumer-facing way where we ensure people have healthy babies. Not necessarily this will be a clinic but it will be somehow where fertilization will happen in our facilities.”

“I’m not speaking about super humans or designer babies,” he adds. “I’m speaking about ensuring at a later stage of the conception journey to have a healthy baby. And this is where we see ART can actually be the way to procreate at later stages in order to ensure that the baby is healthy then there should be new technologies that just give you a healthy baby — and not mess up with your body.”

Of course this is pure concept right now. And Taja concedes that Mojo doesn’t even have data to determine “good” sperm from “bad” — beyond some basic signifiers.

But once samples start flowing via customers of the first product they expect to be able to start gathering data (with permission) to support further research into the role played by individual sperm and eggs in reproduction — looking at the whole journey from sperm and egg selection through to embryo and baby.

Though getting permission for all elements of the research they hope to do may be one potential barrier.

“Once the first module is in the market we will be collecting data,” he says. “And this data that we’ll be collecting will go and be associated with the live births or the treatment outcome. And with that we’ll understand more and more what is a good sperm, what is a bad sperm.

“But we need to start from somewhere. And this somewhere right now what we’re relying on is the knowledge that good practitioners have in the field.”

Taha says he and his co-founders actively started building the company in January 2018, taking in some angel investment, along with government grants from France and the EU’s Horizon 2020 research pot.

They’ve been building the startup out of Lyon, France but the commercial team will shortly be moving to the UK ahead of launching Mojo Pro.

In the short term the hope is to attract clinics to adopt the Mojo Pro subscription service as a way for them to serve more customers, while potentially helping couples reduce the number of IVF cycles they have to go. Longer term the bet is that changing lifestyles will only see demand for data-fuelled technology-assisted reproduction grow.

“Now we help streamline laboratory processes in order to help the 180M people who have fertility problems have access to fertility at an affordable price and reliable manner but also we have an eye on the future — what happens when genetic testing… [plays] an important role in the procreation and people will opt for this,” he adds.

Samsung gets a second chance with the Galaxy Fold, the foldable phone it put on hold three months ago after problems with the Fold’s plastic screen caused the company to re-evaluate its initial April 26 sale date. Now, the world’s highest-profile foldable phone will arrive in the US on Sept. 27, after it’s been on sale in Korea and the UK. Although CNET’s review unit never broke (here’s our original Galaxy Fold review), we’re eager to see how the Fold holds up longer-term.

We now know what the major design changes are, including hiding the edges of the plastic film that some reviewers peeled off. In fact, it was a protective layer that caused the screen to malfunction when removed. Keep reading for all the details, and a recap of what went wrong.

(Here’s everything that’s good and bad about the Galaxy Fold so far.)

When will the Galaxy Fold go on sale and for how much? 

The Fold is on sale in South Korea and the UK, and will sell in the US on Sept. 27 for $1,980, for the 4G. That price hasn’t changed.

The 5G version, such as the one you can buy in Samsung’s other two Galaxy Fold markets, will cost more. For example, at Samsung’s Experience Store in the UK, the foldable device costs £1,900.

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What changed?

• You can’t peel off the top protective layer; the edges of that film are no longer visible. Instead, they stretch beneath the plastic bezel.
• There are plastic, “T”-shaped caps on the top and bottom of the Fold screen that help keep dust and debris from getting behind the display.
• The gap between the hinge and Galaxy Fold’s body is reduced.
• There’s an extra metal layer beneath the screen to strengthen it and supposedly reduce the visibility of where the screen creases at the fold.

Is the Galaxy Fold dust- and water-resistant?

It’s not. Samsung advises that you keep the Galaxy Fold well away from water and dust, which means you’d best leave it at home the next time you head to the beach.

How will people know how to care for the Fold?

Samsung provides care instructions in a YouTube video, in the phone’s quick start guide, on the screen cling that surrounds the phone in the box, and on Samsung’s website.

What kind of goodies do you get for buying a $2,000 phone?

The Galaxy Fold comes with a pair of Galaxy Buds wireless headphones ($130 value) and a special case. You also get Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Premiere Service, which gives you 24/7 access to a dedicated customer service representative — you can even get help sent straight to you in person.

Can I preorder the phone?

No. Samsung initially put the Fold on preorder, before canceling sales in the face of what will end up being a five-month delay. The Galaxy Fold will simply go on sale.

Commentary: Rushing foldable phones doesn’t work. Just ask Samsung and Huawei

What did the delay do to Samsung’s reputation?

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold delay has put Samsung in an awkward position. As the world’s largest phone maker and the the first major brand to announce a foldable phone, Samsung’s reputation as an innovator is riding on the Fold, especially after its spectacular unveiling on Feb. 20. 

Samsung’s troubles underscore just how risky and fragile the concept of a foldable phone really is. Foldable phones represent a new type of device that’s meant to maximize screen size without expanding the overall size of the device. The tech giant wanted to lead the way, burnishing its reputation as an innovator in the phone’s transition to the next big thing. 

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Until Samsung and other brands can allay buyers’ fears with screens that can withstand the pressures of daily use, the future of foldable phones hangs precariously in the balance. Intense criticism may hurt future sales and shake consumer confidence in the concept of foldable phones in general.

The Galaxy Fold’s chance to lead the emerging category could come under fire if buyers turn their backs on the innovative design — this could still happen — or opt for a rival model such as Huawei’s Mate X, TCL’s upcoming designs or a rumored foldable phone like the Motorola Razr. On the flip side, those other companies have the chance to learn from the Galaxy Fold’s mistakes.

Why caused Galaxy Fold screen damage in the first place?

Several early reviewers experienced damage to the screens on their Galaxy Fold loan devices, which made the foldable phones unusable. Photos of the damaged Folds ranged from a fully blacked-out screen to a bubbled device, and one with a portion of the screen white and the other half blacked out.

The Fold has a horizontal clamshell design, where hard glass halves close like a book to protect a tender 7.3-inch plastic display inside. Samsung even includes a case in the Galaxy Fold box as extra armor for the glass exterior, in case you drop the phone.

There may be a specific reason that some of the phones came to harm. Two reviewers experienced a total screen failure when they removed a thin plastic film that runs along the Galaxy Fold’s screen. There’s a narrow gap between this film and the bezel-edge of the display, which has led to confusion about the nature of the film.

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It isn’t immediately obvious if the plastic layer belongs to the phone or if it’s the film you commonly see on devices to keep screens smudge- and lint-free during shipping and storage.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman found out the hard way that the latter wasn’t the case. He tweeted this about his review unit last week: “The screen on my Galaxy Fold review unit is completely broken and unusable just two days in. Hard to know if this is widespread or not.”

YouTube reviewer Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee had a similar experience after peeling the layer off his Galaxy Fold review unit.

“PSA: There’s a layer that appears to be a screen protector on the Galaxy Fold’s display,” he tweeted. “It’s NOT a screen protector. Do NOT remove it.”

But the protective film isn’t the only source of Samsung’s early troubles. CNBC’s Todd Haselton experienced screen flickering on the left side of his review device. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn also had issues, with Bohn’s screen forming a bulge beneath the surface. YouTube reviewer Michael “Mr. Mobile” Fisher also found a bump beneath his Galaxy Fold screen.

Read: The Galaxy Fold can’t have this one useful thing

These reports of a faulty Galaxy Fold are a nightmare situation for Samsung, the first major brand to sell a foldable phone. The Fold — which has a 4.6-inch screen on the outside, a bendable 7.3-inch screen on the inside and a nearly $2,000 price tag — is a major risk for the tech giant.

Were the Galaxy Fold issues harmful?

While the reported problems make the affected Galaxy Fold unusable, they’re not dangerous, unlike the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which was found to overheat and sometimes catch fire.

Read: Sucking up to buyers might be Samsung’s best way out of this Galaxy Fold mess

What does this Fold incident mean for Google Android support?

Nothing. Google’s support for the category of foldable phones is unwavering, and the new Android 10 operating system supports foldable phones.

To Google, foldable phones “open up a complete new category which, though early, might just change the future of mobile computing,” said Google’s Senior Android Director, Stephanie Saad Cuthbertson.

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The secret sauce hinges on App Continuity, the software that helps phones like the Galaxy Fold quickly move an active app from one screen and orientation to another, say from a small screen on the outside to a larger screen on the inside and back again, without missing a beat. Since developers don’t typically make their apps for foldable screens, standardized developer tools and best practices will help make these apps work better on foldable screens.

Google’s ongoing role here suggests that the Fold delay was a pothole, rather than a roadblock, on the path to foldable phone designs.

What was the problem with the film layer on the original Fold design?

What looked like a paper-thin sheet of plastic covering the foldable phone’s 7.3-inch display was in fact a protective layer that’s crucial to helping keep the phone damage-free. You can see the edges of that layer here, on my original review unit:

Why does the Galaxy Fold’s screen need a protective layer?

The Galaxy Fold has a completely different screen setup than any other phone. There’s a 4.6-inch display on the outside that’s covered with Gorilla Glass — that’s the same as other Galaxy phones like the S10 and S10 Plus ($900 at Amazon). But inside, the screen is made of a plastic (polymer) material that Samsung calls its Infinity Flex Display.

Samsung created this with a new process and specific adhesives to withstand the screen’s bending and flexing without breaking. The screen protector layer is meant to remain in place to prevent damage to the display below — that’s the thing that actually makes your “screen” light up. Without the hardness of glass to cover the delicate display, the Fold is more vulnerable, something that’s become vividly apparent.

Did Samsung say you’re not supposed to remove the film?

It isn’t clear if Samsung thoroughly briefed every reviewer who received a phone about the screen protector layer. There was no instruction in my box — no literature at all, in fact — but also no other indication, like a pull tab, that you should remove it.

I almost did anyway. As a reviewer, I like to experience the phone as “clean” as possible. That means everything I can peel off is going to come off. I emailed Samsung for more information about this layer. A spokesperson responded, “Galaxy Fold is manufactured with a special protective layer. It is not a screen protector — do not attempt to remove it.”

The company further elaborated its position:

“A few reviewers reported having removed the top layer of the display causing damage to the screen. The main display on the Galaxy Fold features a top protective layer, which is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. Removing the protective layer or adding adhesives to the main display may cause damage. We will ensure this information is clearly delivered to our customers.”

Samsung added this statement as well: 

“The protective layer is part of the display structure designed to protect the screen from unintended scratches. The main display of the Galaxy Fold is made with a new, advanced polymer layer and adhesive that’s flexible and tough enough to endure repeated folding actions. Because the main display is made with polymer, the extra protective layer is in place to guard against impact. It’s built into the display which is why it should not be removed by force. Consumers who notice that the protective layer is not integrated on the display should contact Samsung customer care at 1-800-SAMSUNG as soon as possible to avoid any additional damage to the display.”

Desmond Smith, director of creative content and a tech evangelist at T-Mobile, tweeted that the carrier’s final production models will come with a warning on the wrap that goes over the Galaxy Fold’s screen:

But peeling off the Fold’s screen layer isn’t the only issue 

While removing the plastic film caused a problem for some, it isn’t entirely clear what the protective film does or how its removal relates to the screen’s behavior. Remember that two of the reviewers kept the protector on. Bohn and Fisher suspect that a piece of dust or debris may have become lodged under the screen to create the bulge he felt, and a slight distortion on the Fold’s surface.

Haselton, meanwhile, observed a persistent screen flicker over the left half of the screen. We know that two batteries, one on each side, work in concert to form a single power source. I’m not an electrical or chemical engineer, but I wonder if that could indicate a battery issue. Hopefully we’ll all find out one way or another.

At any rate, the Galaxy Fold’s risky design has created some inconsistencies that could damage its early production phones and its reputation.

Why are bendable screens made of plastic in the first place?

Right now, glass doesn’t bend so well. That’s something that Corning — the maker of Gorilla Glass, which covers most high-end phones — is working on. Don’t expect bendable glass to save second-gen foldable phones, though. It won’t be ready for some time.

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Originally published earlier this year. Updated with details on the fixed Galaxy Fold.