Leipzig startup JawBuddy secures €818k to combat jaw pain, bruxism, and TMJ tension

JawBuddy, a Leipzig-based HealthTech startup dedicated to helping individuals alleviate jaw pain, bruxism, and TMJ-related tension, has successfully raised €818k in a pre-Seed funding round led by healthcare platform HALBZEIT.

The investment round also received support from Dr. Siegfried Marquardt, an expert in functional and aesthetic dentistry and implantology, alongside oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Guido Sigron. Additional participants included Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen (MBG) and business angels Christophe Barriolade, Aldrich Huang, Jens Kosche, and Marc Scheidegger. The total capital package further incorporates the Business Angel Bonus from Sächsische Aufbaubank.

“I suffered from jaw pain myself for years and saw how little you can do between two dental appointments. That is exactly the gap we close. With this funding, we are now starting the clinical trial and taking the next step towards reimbursement,” said Leon Rauch, co-founder and CEO of JawBuddy.

Established in 2025 by Leon Rauch, Moritz Scherer, and Benjamín Cádiz de Gracia and operating out of SpinLab in Leipzig, JawBuddy is a scientifically backed digital health venture that assists people in easing jaw discomfort, teeth grinding, and TMJ stress utilizing physiotherapist-designed routines.

The firm explains that it leads patients through a customized home self-therapy program while tracking progress using a smartphone camera. Furthermore, the application assists individuals suffering from bruxism, which is the involuntary clenching or grinding of teeth.

The platform asserts that it merges medical knowledge, customized insights, and straightforward daily workouts to help users comprehend the underlying causes of their jaw discomfort and secure enduring relief.

The business emphasized that every exercise is grounded in evidence, developed jointly by Scherer—a physiotherapist holding an M.Sc. and serving as a PhD candidate in Health Technologies—and Dr. Christian Wolf, a practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Kantonsspital Aarau. This material merges clinical insights with current studies regarding jaw conditions.

JawBuddy notes that it leverages user evaluations, daily feedback, and reported symptoms to continuously adjust and refine individual workout routines. Greater utilization allows the software to better comprehend what proves effective for each person. Additionally, the platform produces exportable medical documents that clients can present to their dentist, physician, or physiotherapist to aid ongoing treatment.

The application is designated as a Class I medical device per EU MDR standards and serves as an accompaniment to standard dental care. The German enterprise stated that clinical pilot trials are currently underway across five locations, featuring University Hospital RWTH Aachen.

“We invest where a large, underserved market, a clear clinical need and a reimbursable model come together. JawBuddy brings all of that, and it tackles a problem every dental practice knows: patients with jaw problems who keep coming back,” said Luisa Wasilewski, Pool Captain at HALBZEIT.

JawBuddy is additionally in discussions regarding a care agreement with a prominent statutory health insurer, anticipated to launch in early 2027. A multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 130 patients is also set to begin in December 2026. The enterprise intends to deploy this fresh capital to finance its proprietary efficacy research alongside securing coverage through health insurers.