A Cardiff-based technology firm pioneering wearable devices to prevent workplace injuries has secured a significant equity investment to fuel its expansion.
Major Funding for Safety Tech
Spacebands, which develops wrist-worn technology to monitor workers' exposure to hazards like noise and hand-arm vibration, has closed a £1.1 million equity investment round. This latest funding, announced in January 2026, builds on a previous £1 million round led by US investor Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners in 2024. The identities of the new backers have not been publicly disclosed.
The capital injection will be used to enhance the company's existing wearable devices and continue developing its online analytics platform. The goal is to help employers identify harmful exposure earlier and intervene before health damage becomes irreversible.
Tackling a Silent Epidemic in Workplaces
The investment addresses a critical and costly issue in UK industry. New data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) underscores the scale of the problem: an estimated 12,000 workers each year suffer hearing loss caused or worsened by work, with millions exposed to hazardous noise levels.
Conditions such as noise-induced hearing loss and hand-arm vibration syndrome develop gradually, often going unnoticed until workers face lifelong impairment. Unlike sudden accidents, these injuries accumulate over time and are frequently missed by traditional, static monitoring methods.
"Too many workers only discover the impact of noise or vibration exposure years after the damage is done. By then, it’s too late," said Ronan Finnegan, co-founder of Spacebands.
How Spacebands' Technology Works
Spacebands' devices are designed to close this safety gap. Worn on the wrist, they monitor an individual's real-time exposure to hazards like vibration and noise. The technology alerts the worker as risk levels build and provides health and safety teams with clear, actionable data.
This enables organisations to take preventative steps—such as rotating tasks, adjusting equipment, or changing processes—before exposure reaches dangerous levels. The technology is already deployed by major infrastructure firms including Network Rail, M Group Highways, Kier Group, and Balfour Beatty.
"The funding allows us to keep building tools that help employers see risk as it develops, not after the harm has already occurred," Finnegan added. "Prevention has to happen in real time, on the person, not retrospectively in a report."
Recognition and Growth
The company's innovative approach has earned it significant recognition. Spacebands is one of only four Welsh businesses to feature in the Startups 100 index for 2026, where it is ranked 32nd. The list ranks new companies based on finance, innovation, and market opportunity.
This combination of financial backing and industry validation positions Spacebands for substantial growth as it aims to reduce the tens of billions of pounds lost annually to occupational ill health in the UK economy.
