Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Envizion Medical, an Israel-based feeding tube guiding system producer backed by Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, has closed an $8m round with undisclosed investors, Geektime reported today. Founded in 2015, Envizion has devised an imaging technology called ENVue to guide the implementation of feeding tubes into the digestive system. EnVue exploits electromagnetic sensors to produce a map of the patient’s nasal cavity and a marker predicting the tube’s trajectory to prevent it from mistakenly being pushed into the lungs. Envizion did not say how it intended to use the funding but can be expected to target growth having unveiled a distribution deal with more than 100 hospitals run by an unnamed US healthcare provider. The company has now raised $18m in funding to date from investors including Technion – Israel Institute of Technology’s venture fund as well as unnamed family offices and health tech-focused individuals, according to Tech.eu.
CoapTech, a US-based medical device developer founded by University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty, raised $7m in a series B round led by venture capital firm Hunniwell Lake Ventures late last month. CoapTech is commercialising a system called Puma-G that relies on ultrasound and magnets to place feeding tubes by a clinician at the bedside. The company will use the money to hire sales teams and launch marketing activities. The capital will also support research and development efforts to expand the uses for Puma-G. CoapTech raised $2.4m in seed financing in mid-2018 from tech transfer office UM Ventures, Maryland Technology Development Corp, Maryland Industrial Partnerships, the National Institutes of Health and assorted angel investors. It subsequently secured $3.2m in a bridge round in April 2019 but has not published further details.
Zipp Mobility, an Ireland-based micromobility provider allied to University College Dublin, obtained €500,000 ($592,000) in funding yesterday from former professional rugby player Brian O’Driscoll and an unnamed US investor. The capital will allow Zipp to launch several shared e-scooter trials throughout the UK, coming a week after the Department for Transport approved Zipp’s offering. Zipp has now raised more than €1m altogether, it said, having previously obtained $335,000 in seed funding from undisclosed backers in June this year.
SmartPlus Insurance, a Japan-based insurance subsidiary of University of Tokyo fintech spinout Finatext Holdings, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from insurance group MS&AD Insurance’s Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance unit.
– Additional reporting by Liwen-Edison Fu
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).
