AgeTech startup Patronus raises EUR 11 million for a watch that seniors will actually use

AgeTech startup Patronus has secured more than €11 million in growth capital. The round was led by 3TS Capital Partners with participation from Grazia Equity, as well as existing investors Singular, Burda Principal Investments, Adjacent, NAP, and UVC Partners. The Berlin-based company offers a digital safety and companion solution for older adults, addressing a problem that traditional emergency call systems have failed to solve for decades: user acceptance.

While only 14 percent of users wear their emergency call button continuously, Patronus boasts an 85 percent acceptance rate. The new capital will be used to expand its market leadership in the mobile emergency call segment and to develop new product areas, such as an AI companion that gives older adults the feeling of not being alone, even during quiet moments.

According to Destatis, 43 percent of people over 75 in Germany live alone. Traditional home emergency call devices have existed for decades and have hardly changed. Around 1.2 million people use them. The number of people who own them but don't wear them is not recorded. However, studies show that only 14 percent wear them consistently.

Patronus' answer is a smartwatch, but not one that looks like medical technology. The device comes in various colors, displays the time, and wears like a normal wristwatch. An integrated SIM card makes it independent of the home network. In an emergency, a single press of a button connects immediately to the company's trained in-house emergency call center staffed by specialists: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere in Germany.

Many seniors don't wear their emergency call button for fear of false alarms or stigmatization. Patronus has tackled this problem from the ground up. The idea is proving popular: 85 percent of the 25,000 users wear their Patronus watch on their wrist every day. Patronus has already answered over half a million Patronus emergency calls for them.

Alongside the clock, Patronus has developed an app for relatives that solves a dilemma many families are familiar with: You worry, but you don't want to control.

This app shows whether the watch is being worn, whether the person has left the house, and their current location. In an emergency, relatives are notified immediately. You can call directly from the watch. Today, 50,000 relatives are connected with their elderly family members via the Patronus Family App.

What lies behind this is actually an emotional product: A daughter in Munich, whose mother lives alone in Hamburg, no longer needs to call every day to be sure. She can see in the app that her mother went for a walk this morning. She can let go because she knows. The mother can let go because someone is there in the background, without her having to explain herself every day.

What's next: the AI ​​companion against loneliness

Twelve percent of people over 75 in Germany do not have a single face-to-face conversation on an average day. Loneliness among older people is now recognized as a serious health risk and affects cognitive performance, increases the risk of dementia, and shortens life expectancy.

Patronus plans to address this problem with an AI companion: a digital assistant on the wrist, always available via the Patronus watch. The AI ​​companion doesn't replace human interaction, but it offers a real solution for those hours when no one is around.

“We want to create a world where aging means security, independence, and connection,” says Ben Staudt, founder of Patronus . “Supported by technology that adapts to people, not the other way around.”

“Patronus has proven that it’s possible to develop products for seniors that they truly embrace,” says Markus Fleischer of 3TS Capital Partners. “We invest in companies that redefine growth industries and have a positive impact. Ben and his team are succeeding in integrating cutting-edge technologies like AI into everyday life and making life a little better for many.”

Photo credit: The Patronus emergency watch – © Patronus

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