Embrace Innovations

Jane Chen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Innovations. She has a long track record of working in various NGOs and Foundations, and currently sits on the Board of the Center for Humane Technology. She holds an MPA from Harvard as well as an MBA from Stanford, where she also currently teaches Design Thinking & leadership at the Stanford and SAP Academy of Engineering.

What is the Challenge?

Over the last 100 years, the baby incubator has been one of the most influential contributions to the decline in infant mortality rate. And yet, today, a baby dies needlessly every ten seconds.

One of the biggest problems these babies face is regulating their body temperatures—which isthe primary function of an incubator. But incubators are technically complex, expensive (costing $20K or more), and require a stable supply of electricity - making them prohibitive in remote parts of the world. Traditional incubators often do not work in the world’s least advantaged vulnerable communities, and the closest substitutes – open fireplaces – are medically inefficient.

What is the Solution?

Embrace has developed a lifesaving MedTech solution for babies right after birth. The core technology of the Embrace incubator is a phase-change-material, a wax-like substance, which when melted, can maintain a constant temperature for up to eight hours at a stretch, ensuring that babies have sufficient warmth after birth.

This wax pouch can be reheated thousands of times. It is then placed into a sleeping bag, where it creates a warm micro-environment for the baby. The Embrace incubator costs ~1% of a traditional incubator used in hospitals and is estimated to have saved over 300,000 babies. At the same time, and more so than even traditional incubators, it enables the parents to be close to their child right after birth.

What EQT Foundation loves about Embrace Innovations

At EQT Foundation we love innovations that showcase that the product does not have to be expensive to compete with some of the developed world solutions that we normally do not question. The incubator found in hospitals costs around USD 20.000, while the embrace bag costs USD 200. This equals a 99% reduction in price. The Embrace Incubator is a great example of a low-cost alternative that is as effective as its conventional, high-cost counterpart.

However, another true advantage of the Embrace incubator is that it can be used anywhere, also outside hospitals, making births safer across the globe. EQT Foundation likes the emphasis put on the human component of the solution, the fact that parents are literally able to embrace their child while it receives life-saving treatment.