Movetru Secures £1.2M Pre-Seed to Launch AI-Powered Wearables for Injury Prevention

Movetru, a Belfast‑based sports technology startup, has announced a £1.2 million (approximately €1.4 million / US$1.6 million) pre‑seed funding round to support the launch and commercial rollout of its AI‑powered wearable movement analysis and injury prevention platform across Europe and beyond. The funding milestone, revealed in mid‑2025 after five years of product development, marks a key inflection point for the company as it seeks to scale operations, expand its team, and bring accessible biomechanical insights to athletes, coaches, and clinicians.

The investment was led by Two Magnolias, a UK‑based venture capital firm that focuses on early‑stage technology startups with strong product‑market fit, particularly those advancing digital innovation in health, wellness, and performance sectors. Two Magnolias’ support in Movetru’s round reflects the firm’s belief in the potential of real-time biomechanical data to transform how movement health and injury risk are understood and managed.

Joining Two Magnolias in backing Movetru was a diverse group of international investors spanning the UK, United States, and Ireland. The syndicate includes IAG Capital, a US‑headquartered investor known for financing technology and growth‑oriented ventures; HBAN, a business angel network operating across Ireland and Northern Ireland; Angel Academe, a UK angel investor network focused on supporting female‑led and diverse founding teams; and AwakenAngels, an investor group with a history of backing early‑stage innovation.

In addition to institutional backers, a number of individual angel investors with deep expertise in sports science, biomechanics, and professional sports also participated in the round. These include Dr. Phil Graham‑Smith, co‑founder of ForceDecks; Dr. Mark Batt, consultant and honorary professor of sport and exercise medicine; and Jeff Mostyn, the former chairman of AFC Bournemouth. Their involvement underscores confidence from industry specialists in Movetru’s approach to applying data‑driven insights to movement optimisation and injury prevention.

Founded in 2020 by engineer and former ballet dancer Naomi McGregor, Movetru was born out of McGregor’s personal experience with a prolonged undiagnosed injury, which inspired her to build technology aimed at improving movement health for others. Combining her academic background in product design engineering with a passion for reducing preventable injuries, McGregor and her team developed a wearable sensor system that tracks lower‑body movement through six 3D‑printed sensors. These sensors relay biomechanical data to an AI‑powered app, generating a “movement score” and tailored recommendations that help athletes, coaches, and physiotherapists identify risk factors and improve performance in real time.

Movetru’s technology has already gained traction with a range of early adopters, including professional and amateur sports organisations in the UK and Ireland. Notable users include the Belfast Giants ice hockey team, and the company has engaged with football clubs in the English Premier League. The device is designed for use in training, on‑field performance assessments, and rehabilitation, with particular applicability to common lower‑limb concerns such as ACL, Achilles, and hamstring injuries.

Alongside the new investment, Movetru has benefited from substantial grant funding that bolstered its research and development capabilities. Prior support includes a £500,000 Innovate UK Smart Grant awarded to accelerate R&D efforts related to ACL injuries and movement analytics, which helped validate Movetru’s technology and support product refinement.

With this latest capital raise, Movetru plans to double its workforce, enhance marketing and production capabilities, and broaden its commercial footprint throughout sports clubs, clinics, and performance centres across Europe. The company also has ambitions to expand into the US market, where demand for injury prevention and performance analytics tools in both professional and grassroots sports continues to grow.

The pre‑seed funding round highlights broader industry trends toward investment in female‑led startups and health‑tech innovation, particularly in areas where AI and wearable technologies intersect to address complex real‑world problems. Movetru’s leadership, with McGregor at the helm as founder and CEO, has positioned the company not only as a technology innovator but also as a symbol of growing diversity and representation in the sports technology sector.

As the company embarks on its next phase, its focus remains on making advanced biomechanical insights accessible outside of elite research labs and specialist clinics, enabling athletes at all levels to receive actionable data that can help reduce injury risk, optimise training, and improve overall movement health.