In October 2015, CCS Insight predicted that the wearable technology industry would treble in value over the next five years. Canadian company OMsignal is well-positioned to capitalise on this growth, having launched in 2011 with the aim of building smart clothing that connects seamlessly with mobile devices.

The company’s shirts have bio-sensors embedded to monitor heart rate, breathing and activity, while the OMsignal app displays the data in real time on a mobile device.

Co-founded by Frederic Chanay, a mobile, telecoms and web executive and entrepreneur, and Stephane Marceau, former CMO at Yellow Pages’ Canadian arm, Yellow Media,

OMsignal’s technology powers its own-branded clothes as well as apparel from brands including Ralph Lauren. In January 2016, the Montreal-based company launched a sports bra that tracks metrics including heart rate, breathing rate and calories burned, and connects with fitness apps such as Strava.

The company has raised $14m (£9.6m) of funding to date.