Leipzig-based JawBuddy secures €818K to tackle jaw pain, teeth grinding and TMJ-related tension

JawBuddy, a Leipzig-based HealthTech startup focused on helping people manage jaw pain, bruxism and tension associated with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, has secured €818k in a pre-Seed funding round led by healthcare platform HALBZEIT.

The round also attracted investment from Dr. Siegfried Marquardt, a specialist in aesthetic and functional dentistry and implantology, and Dr. Guido Sigron, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Sachsen (MBG) joined the round alongside business angels Christophe Barriolade, Aldrich Huang, Jens Kosche and Marc Scheidegger. The funding package also includes the Business Angel Bonus provided by 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.

Founded in 2025 by Leon Rauch, Moritz Scherer and Benjamín Cádiz de Gracia, JawBuddy is a digital health startup based at SpinLab in Leipzig. The company develops clinically supported solutions to help people manage jaw pain, bruxism and TMJ-related tension through guided exercise programmes designed by physiotherapists.

The startup says its app provides users with personalised self-therapy programmes that can be followed at home, while tracking their progress through a smartphone camera. It also caters to people experiencing bruxism, a condition characterised by involuntary teeth grinding or clenching.

JawBuddy combines medical knowledge, personalised insights and simple daily exercises to help users identify the underlying causes of jaw discomfort and work towards lasting relief.

According to the company, its exercises are evidence-based and were developed by Scherer, a physiotherapist with an M.Sc. who is also pursuing a PhD in Health Technologies, alongside Dr. Christian Wolf, a practising oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Kantonsspital Aarau. The programme draws on clinical experience and current research into jaw-related disorders.

The app uses users’ initial assessments, daily feedback and reported symptoms to regularly adjust their exercise plans. JawBuddy says this approach allows the platform to better understand individual needs and identify which exercises are most effective over time. It also generates downloadable medical reports that users can share with dentists, doctors and physiotherapists to support their ongoing treatment.

Registered as a Class I medical device under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), the app is designed to complement conventional dental care. The German startup also reported that clinical pilot projects are underway at five locations, including 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 also in discussions over a care contract with a major statutory health insurer, which is expected to begin in early 2027. In addition, a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 130 patients is scheduled to start in December 2026. The newly raised funding will help the company finance its own clinical efficacy study and pursue reimbursement coverage through health insurers.