Using heat to combat itching
Kamedi GmbH
Kamedi GmbH
Biotechnology
2018
Co-Founder and CEO
Lukas Liedtke
The product
heat it® – The smart insect bite healer
heat it® is a compact, smartphone-operated device for treating insect bites. By selectively heating the affected area of skin to around 51°C, the release of histamine is reduced, effectively relieving itching and pain. The device is completely chemical-free, making it particularly suitable for sensitive skin.
What makes heat it® so special is its ease of use: the device is connected to the smartphone via the charging port and can be ready for use in just a few seconds. The specially developed app allows individual control of the treatment duration and temperature, so that the application can be tailored to different skin types and pain sensitivities. A full smartphone charge is sufficient for up to 1,000 applications.
Thanks to its compact design and practical key ring, heat it® can be carried around at all times without taking up any extra space. Its robust construction also ensures a long service life, making the product particularly sustainable.
Facts
01 INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: Kamedi is now represented in over 15 countries, including almost all of Europe, China, Israel, and Australia. A subsidiary was founded in the USA in 2023.
02 USER NUMBERS: By 2024, over 1,000,000 heat it® devices had been sold worldwide and more than 50 million treatments had been performed.
03 GROWTH: The company now employs more than 25 people and continues to focus on international expansion and product development.
USP
WHAT MAKES KAMEDI SO UNIQUE?
Compared to conventional sting healers, which are battery-powered and bulky, heat it® offers a compact solution that uses your smartphone as its power source. This allows for up to 1,000 applications per full smartphone charge. In addition, the device can be individually controlled via an app and adapted to personal needs.
The founding story
From student project to successful startup
The idea for heat it® was born during mechanical engineering studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The founders Lukas Liedtke, Armin Meyer, Christof Reuter, and Stefan Hotz developed a prototype of the insect bite healer in 2018 as part of the COSIMA student competition. After filing a patent application and winning competitions, they founded Kamedi GmbH in the fall of 2018. The name stands for “Karlsruhe Medical Devices.”
The biggest challenges in the startup process
“To convince ourselves and others that four mechanical engineers are capable of developing, manufacturing, and successfully marketing an end-user medical technology product.”
Investments, financing, and growth
In the early stages of the company’s founding, Kamedi secured the EXIST start-up grant in 2019, which provided financial support for research and development. To kick off the next phase of growth, the team convinced various business angels and investors of their innovative concept in the following years, generating crucial capital for scaling up.
Significant milestones included a crowdfunding campaign in 2019, certification as a medical device manufacturer by TÜV Süd in 2020, and an appearance on the well-known TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” in 2021.
In addition, Kamedi participated in support programs such as the Life Science Accelerator Baden-Württemberg and Cyberlab Karlsruhe, which not only provided financial resources but also valuable contacts and mentoring for internationalization. This enabled Kamedi to become profitable in 2021 and expand into the international market. Since then, Kamedi has expanded its presence to over 15 countries and sold over one million devices.
Advice for founders from founders
Keep things simple.
Whether it’s a product idea, business model, team setup, or group of shareholders, a clear, simple structure ensures that you can save your energy for the really important challenges. Complexity comes with time.
Challenge yourselves, but stay true to yourselves.
Your vision must not only be outward-facing, but also inward-facing. If it doesn’t suit you personally, it will be difficult to represent it authentically in the long term – and that is often the beginning of the end.
Stay willing to take risks, but don’t become reckless.
It’s better to try ten things and find one that works than to spend ages wondering whether you should test a single idea. Many decisions can be reversed, so it’s better to give things a go! However, for the few decisions that are irreversible, you should take the necessary time and weigh them up carefully.
The faces behind Kamedi
