Arborsense

What Arborsense does

Arborsense, Inc. is a privately held health technology company headquartered at 674 S Wagner Rd, Ann Arbor, Michigan, founded in 2015. The company develops transdermal biosensor technology that monitors biochemical markers in sweat as a non-invasive alternative to blood draws and urine testing. Its product portfolio centers on two wearable devices: GRADE®, described as the first corrections-grade wrist-worn alcohol wearable that detects alcohol biomarkers in real time, and SCANar™, described as a point-of-need quantitative drug detector using sweat collection technology. Both devices are positioned as private, sanitary, and user-friendly form factors designed for both self- and supervised use, with an associated mobile application referenced under the upGRADE brand.

The company sells into three primary use-case segments: Compliance and Accountability (law enforcement, workplace safety, rehabilitation, and healthcare), Research and Clinical Studies (substance use, metabolic health, and disease studies), and Consumer Wellness (personalized fitness, recovery, hydration, and stress monitoring). Sales are predominantly enterprise and institutional via a direct sales-led motion with demo scheduling as the principal demand generation mechanism. Revenue is generated through a combination of hardware device sales (GRADE and SCANar) and recurring compliance monitoring services, although no public pricing or contracted price points are disclosed.

Arborsense has been backed by federal research and state economic development capital, including successive National Science Foundation grants (2015 and 2017), Michigan Rise (2021), the Tech Startup Stabilization Fund (2020), and additional Michigan-based supporters (Michigan Biomedical Fund, InvestDetroit, MEDC, AA-SPARK, MINTS, MichiganRise). Co-founders Xudong Fan and Girish Kulkarni (President & Co-founder) lead the company, which operates with 1–10 employees. Named customers visible in marketing materials include a Nevada government service provider (law enforcement) and Meridian Health Clinic.

Name

Arborsense

Legal name

Arborsense, Inc.

Website

https://arborsenseinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arborsense, Inc., founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, develops non-invasive sweat-based transdermal biosensors. Its GRADE® wrist-worn alcohol wearable and SCANar™ drug detector serve law enforcement, healthcare, rehabilitation, and research customers via direct enterprise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wearable Biosensors

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Health Wearables & Fitness Trackers (Wellness Monitoring) (HLAHACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health Monitoring Wearables (ECG, BP, SpO2, CGM-compatible) (CRACAIAF), Hydration, Nutrition & Metabolic Tracking Devices (Smart Bottles, Breath/Metabolic Analyzers) (CRACAQAI)

Keywords

• Wearable biosensors
• Transdermal sensors
• Alcohol monitoring devices
• Drug detection systems
• Sweat-based diagnostics

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Wearable Device Sales: Sale of wearable transdermal sensor devices (GRADE and SCANar) for alcohol and drug monitoring
2. Compliance Monitoring Services: Real-time monitoring services for compliance in law enforcement, workplace safety, rehabilitation, and healthcare settings

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Arborsense designs, manufactures, and sells transdermal wearable biosensor devices that detect biochemical markers (alcohol and drugs) in sweat for non-invasive, real-time monitoring. The portfolio consists of the GRADE® wrist-worn corrections-grade alcohol wearable and the SCANar™ point-of-need quantitative drug detector, sold to law enforcement, healthcare, rehabilitation, workplace safety, research, and consumer wellness buyers.

Product overview

Arborsense is a health technology company offering transdermal sensors that enable rapid and sensitive non-invasive monitoring of biochemical markers in sweat. The product portfolio consists of two core wearable devices: GRADE® (a wrist-worn alcohol monitor) and SCANar™ (a point-of-need quantitative drug detector). Both products provide biomarker monitoring solutions for compliance, research, and consumer health applications without requiring blood draws.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GRADE®: The first corrections grade wrist worn alcohol wearable
• SCANar™
• upGRADE

Products and services

• Arborsense GRADE® Corrections-grade wrist-worn alcohol wearable that monitors alcohol biomarkers through sweat analysis in real time. Designed for law enforcement, corrections, workplace safety, rehabilitation, and healthcare compliance programs requiring continuous accountability.
• Arborsense SCANar™ Point-of-need quantitative drug detector using sweat collection technology. Worn like a watch, it is a comfortable, user-friendly, private, and sanitary alternative to urine testing for drug screening in healthcare, workplace, rehabilitation, and research settings.
• upGRADE Mobile App Companion mobile application associated with Arborsense's GRADE alcohol wearable, referenced through the company's Privacy Policy for the upGRADE app.

Quantifiable outcome

• Non-invasive biomarker monitoring without blood draws
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Meridian Health ClinicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare provider mentioned as a customer and partner providing feedback on the SCANar product for drug testing applications
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor IT services company listed as a partner, potentially for technology development or consulting

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Intoxalock: Leading ignition interlock device provider for DUI/DWI offenders in the U.S. Direct peer in the court-ordered and state-mandated alcohol compliance market that Arborsense's GRADE targets.
• SCRAM Systems (Alcohol Monitoring Systems): Market-leading provider of alcohol monitoring devices (ankle-worn SCRAM bracelets) used in corrections, court-ordered monitoring, and treatment programs. Directly competes with Arborsense's GRADE wrist-worn alcohol wearable for the same corrections and compliance buyer segments.
• Soberlink: Provides remote alcohol monitoring systems with cloud-connected handheld breath devices for family court, child custody, and treatment compliance use cases. Directly comparable to Arborsense's compliance alcohol-monitoring positioning, with a similar recurring-monitoring business model.
• Eccrine Systems: Cincinnati-based developer of sweat-based biosensor technology for drug detection and pharmacokinetic monitoring. Closest direct technical peer to Arborsense, operating in the same sweat-biosensor space for substance-use and pharmaceutical monitoring.
• Epicore Biosystems: Develops wearable sweat sensors for hydration, metabolic health, and biomarker monitoring, with partnerships across consumer, military, and clinical research applications. Directly comparable sweat-biosensor wearable platform competing for similar research and consumer wellness use cases.
• BACtrack: Consumer and professional breathalyzer manufacturer, including the Skyn wearable alcohol tracker. Competes with Arborsense in both consumer alcohol monitoring and professional/compliance use cases with an established brand.

Broad incumbents

• Draeger (DrugTest 5000): Global medical and safety technology company offering the DrugTest 5000 oral-fluid drug screening system used by law enforcement. Established incumbent in point-of-need drug detection competing directly with Arborsense's SCANar positioning.
• Abbott (SoToxa / Toxicology Diagnostics): Major diagnostics incumbent offering SoToxa oral-fluid drug testing and broader toxicology/point-of-care diagnostics. Comparable as an established player serving the same workplace drug-testing and healthcare-compliance buyers Arborsense targets with SCANar.

Emerging players

• Biolinq: Early-stage developer of intradermal biosensor patches measuring multiple analytes (glucose, lactate, alcohol). Comparable as an emerging wearable biosensor company pursuing multi-biomarker continuous monitoring.
• Giner Labs: R&D-focused developer of electrochemical and biosensor technologies including sweat-based wearables for health and biomarker monitoring. Comparable emerging player in sweat biosensing with research-grade and translational applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arborsense-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arborsense