UTRECHT, The Netherlands, April 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vitestro, the pioneering autonomous blood drawing company, today announced that it has raised $22 million (€20 million) funding to accelerate commercialization of its innovative robotic blood drawing device. This brings its total funding raised to $50 million (€46 million) from both equity investments and grant funding.
Co-led by return investor Sonder Capital and new investor NYBC Ventures, with participation from Invest-NL, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund), and existing private investors, the oversubscribed funding round will support Vitestro’s commercialization in Europe and its organizational expansion into the U.S. market.
"We are honored to continue working with Sonder Capital and proud to welcome NYBC Ventures, Invest-NL, and EIC Fund to the Vitestro team,” said Toon Overbeeke, Vitestro CEO and co-founder. “Early feedback from hospitals, staff and patients has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are eager to quickly expand our reach and impact globally.”
Through a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), advanced imaging technology, and robotics, Vitestro enables hospitals and labs to provide accurate and autonomous blood draws, reducing the need for manual handling and improving patient and clinician satisfaction.
"Vitestro’s revolutionary device is perfectly positioned to improve patient care and streamline operations for a medical laboratory market in crisis,” said Dr. Fred Moll, managing partner at Sonder Capital and the co-founder of Intuitive Surgical, the company behind the da Vinci surgical system. “As turnover and departures accelerate, staff are overwhelmed and labs are challenged to deliver timely test results and satisfactory care. We are excited by Vitestro’s progress and believe they will modernize the blood draw experience.”
Multiple Vitestro devices have already been pre-ordered and are scheduled to be deployed at several European hospitals starting at the end of this year to help ease workload and provide a more consistent, improved patient experience. Vitestro is also currently leading the A.D.O.P.T. trial, the world’s largest evaluation of autonomous blood drawing devices.
Vitestro plans to use the most recent funding to expand the team to meet the growing demand for its innovative robotic blood drawing device and develop additional product features. Vitestro is on track to obtain CE approval for its device by the end of 2024, with deployment efforts expected to begin in that same timeframe.
Brian Joseph, commercial director and co-founder at Vitestro added: “Our technology represents a major step forward in healthcare innovation, benefitting both the institution and the patient. We are actively expanding operations to grow in other important international markets, particularly within the United States.”
For more information about Vitestro and its innovative blood drawing device, visit https://vitestro.com.
About Vitestro
Founded in 2017, Vitestro is committed to improving the blood draw experience for patients and clinicians. With its revolutionary autonomous blood draw technology and a team of more than 70 highly skilled specialists in medical robotics, artificial intelligence, imaging software, and healthcare commercialization, Vitestro is transforming the blood draw industry globally. Vitestro is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
For more information, visit the official website.
About Sonder Capital
Sonder Capital, based in Silicon Valley, invests time, capital and expertise in early stage medical technology companies. The Sonder Capital team includes veterans of the medical technology field, with decades of experience as founders, operators and investors.
Sonder Capital takes a craftsman-like approach to helping innovators positively impact healthcare systems worldwide. Collectively, they are responsible for creating many notable public and private companies that have positively impacted millions of patients globally.
For more information, visit the official website.
About NYBC Ventures
NYBC Ventures is an early-stage life sciences investment fund dedicated to accelerating innovations in blood and cellular therapies, and related technologies. The fund invests in therapeutics, devices and innovative technologies addressing the most pressing challenges in our areas of focus. The fund’s mission is to improve patients’ lives by advancing therapeutics, enabling platforms and technologies as well as driving collaborations to further NYBC Enterprises’ impact.
For more information, visit the official website.
About Invest-NL
Invest-NL is the Dutch National Promotional Institute with a principal focus on providing financial solutions to businesses and projects that have a positive impact on society. Our goal is to support the development of pioneering technologies, green initiatives, and social enterprises that contribute to the Netherlands' leadership in sustainability and innovation. These include transitioning to a carbon-neutral and circular economy, ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare, and deep tech.
For more information, visit the official website.
About the EIC Fund
The European Innovation Council Fund from the European Commission is an agnostic Fund: it invests across all technologies and verticals, and all EU countries and countries associated to Horizon Europe. It provides the investment component of the EIC Accelerator blended finance.
The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap and its main purpose is to support companies in the development and commercialisation of disruptive technologies, bridging with and crowding in market players, and further sharing risk by building a large network of capital providers and strategic partners suitable for co-investments and follow-on funding.
For more information, visit the official website.
Media Contact
Vitestro, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Contact: Harm Hoekstra, Mgr. Marketing & Communications
+31 30 200 4551
publicrelations@vitestro.com
Cosmo PR for Vitestro in the United States
Michael Azzano
415-596-1978
michael@cosmo-pr.com
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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