Belfast tech firm to use £640k investment to develop app on boosting healthy screen time
Fluid Focus, which makes an app of the same name, seeks to incentivise users into having healthier screen time.
Founders Glenn Stephenson and Connor Mason describe the cash boost, made by Clarendon Fund Managers and other angel investors, as supporting their ambitions to expand into new markets, such as the US.
They also want to continue to build relationships with academic institutions and businesses.
Fluid Focus carried out a research programme with Dr Paul Redmond, of the University of Liverpool, that saw 18 academic institutions and more than 2,800 students participate in a study into how Gen Z interacts with technology.
News Catch Up - Monday 28th July
The findings showed that 'current students spend on average 5.5 hours on their phone every day, which amounts to 25 years of scrolling over their waking lifetime, if their habits remain unchanged'.
Mr Mason said: 'The reality is that the big tech companies have monetised our time and attention.
'Every second spent on their platforms translates to revenue. The incentivisation model is all wrong, which is why we as a society are realising a broad range of negative outcomes, from diminishing attention spans to rising anxiety and body image issues.
'Our mission is to restore individual agency, empowering people to lead healthy, intentional and fulfilling lives.'
Clarendon's money came from its Co-Fund III programme, an investment vehicle the company operates on behalf of Invest NI.
Jill Wilson, investment associate at Clarendon Fund Managers, said: 'Fluid Focus has tapped into the public's desire for a healthy relationship with technology with a research-led approach and has great potential for growth, particularly in the Gen Z market.
'We're excited to see how the company develops and grows with this investment.' Mr Stephenson added: 'As a Belfast-born company with global ambitions, this investment marks a major milestone and sets us up to expand into the US market.
'The challenge that we're tackling is universal: people are overwhelmed by tech that's designed to keep them hooked.
'Fluid Focus is proud to be at the front of a growing movement to flip that model — rebalancing how people interact with their devices and giving individuals and institutions the tools to take back their time, focus, and wellbeing.'
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