Enterprise capital stays one of many cornerstones of Europe’s innovation panorama, fuelling the expansion of startups throughout each sector. In our final record, we spotlighted 15 VC corporations targeted on sustainability, underlining how buyers are shaping the way forward for sustainability. This text continues that collection, turning the main target towards one other essential space of funding.
Healthcare and life sciences are fields the place enterprise capital performs an particularly very important position. From biotech and medtech to digital well being, specialised VCs are backing formidable founders who’re tackling a number of the most urgent medical challenges of our time. Their funding, experience, and networks not solely speed up development but additionally assist rework scientific breakthroughs into sensible options for sufferers worldwide.
In the present day, we spotlight 10 main European VC corporations driving healthcare innovation. These buyers are shaping the subsequent technology of therapies, medical units, and healthtech options, reinforcing Europe’s place as a hub for all times sciences.
Asabys Companions: Based mostly in Barcelona, Asabys Companions is a enterprise capital agency specialising in early-stage biotech, medtech, and healthcare innovation initiatives. Based in 2018, the agency invests throughout health-tech and biopharma, backing transformative applied sciences in Spain and internationally. Its mission is to push the boundaries of science and medication by way of the sourcing and financing of disruptive options and by collaborating with main trade consultants.
Asabys Companions usually invests from pre-seed to development levels, with ticket sizes starting from €1 million upwards. The agency manages a number of funds and has constructed a portfolio of greater than 30 firms, with profitable exits already recorded. Notable investments embrace Splice Bio, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, Quibim, and SafeHeal. By combining capital with hands-on help and strategic steerage, Asabys has turn out to be one of many main healthcare-focused enterprise buyers in Southern Europe.
Calm/Storm: Based mostly in Vienna, Calm/Storm is a community-focused pre-seed and seed investor in addition to a boutique founder community. The fund backs entrepreneurs on the earliest levels, notably in SaaS, marketplaces, shopper merchandise, and healthtech, with a devoted concentrate on femtech and tabootech. Past capital, Calm/Storm emphasises group constructing, knowledge-sharing, and founder well-being, investing in options that enhance well being and high quality of life.
Preliminary ticket sizes vary from €100K to €500K, with capability for follow-ons. Since its founding in 2020, Calm/Storm has backed over 75 startups and established itself as a key early accomplice for founders in Austria and throughout Europe. Its philosophy centres on empowering entrepreneurs by way of lifelong studying, private development, and entry to an unique community of skilled founders, making it a trusted early accomplice for formidable startups in Austria and throughout Europe.
Forbion: Headquartered in Naarden (Netherlands), Forbion is a worldwide enterprise capital agency targeted on advancing biotechnology and sustainable improvements. With €5 billion underneath administration throughout 11 funds, Forbion backs firms that handle essential challenges in human well being and planetary well being, combining monetary return with optimistic societal affect. Its technique integrates ESG rules into funding choices, aiming to help breakthroughs that profit each sufferers and the planet.
Based in 2006, the agency manages a variety of specialized funds, together with Forbion Ventures VII (€890 million), Forbion Progress Alternatives Fund III (€1.2 billion), and Forbion BioEconomy I (€180 million). Its portfolio contains biotech innovators corresponding to Azafaros, growing therapies for uncommon genetic ailments, and VectorY, pioneering vectorised antibody therapies for CNS issues.
Gilde Healthcare: Headquartered in Utrecht with places of work in Frankfurt and Boston, Gilde Healthcare is a specialised investor managing over €2.6 billion throughout two methods: Enterprise & Progress and Non-public Fairness. Based in 1982, the agency backs firms that allow higher care at decrease value, with investments spanning digital well being, diagnostics, medical units, therapeutics, healthcare suppliers, and repair suppliers.
With greater than 90 energetic portfolio firms and 40 exits, Gilde Healthcare combines deep sector information with hands-on steerage. The agency usually invests as much as €35 million in a single firm, leveraging its transatlantic crew of healthcare specialists to speed up development. Latest exercise contains strategic acquisitions in medical imaging and neuroscience, in addition to investments in disruptive medtech and therapeutics.
HealthCap: Based in 1996, HealthCap is a European enterprise capital agency devoted to life sciences, with places of work in Stockholm and Lausanne. The agency has raised eight funds and backed over 130 firms globally, supporting the event of breakthrough therapies and medical applied sciences for ailments with excessive unmet medical want. Its focus areas embrace uncommon ailments, oncology, and genetic issues, the place innovation can rework medical apply and considerably enhance affected person outcomes.
Through the years, they’ve financed greater than 130 portfolio firms, supported over 45 IPOs throughout 14 markets, and helped carry 34 pharmaceutical merchandise and 50 medical units to approval. Collectively, these improvements have handled greater than 5 million sufferers worldwide. With deep medical experience and a robust industrial community, HealthCap combines capital with energetic involvement, typically taking board seats and guiding firms from early improvement by way of IPOs and commerce gross sales.
Medicxi: Based in 2016 and headquartered in London, Medicxi is a European enterprise capital agency targeted on the life sciences sector. The agency was created by the previous Index Ventures life sciences crew, bringing over twenty years of expertise in drug discovery and therapeutic improvement. Medicxi is backed by main strategic buyers, together with GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Novartis and Verily (Alphabet).
The agency follows an “asset-centric” mannequin, creating and backing biotech firms from the invention stage by way of medical proof-of-concept, and later supporting ventures into pivotal trials and regulatory approvals. Whereas deal sizes differ, Medicxi usually participates in multi-million-euro rounds, with latest investments starting from early seed tickets to growth-stage financings above €100 million. With this strategy, Medicxi has turn out to be a key participant in advancing therapies for areas of excessive unmet medical want throughout Europe and North America.
Nina Capital: Working from Barcelona, Nina Capital is a specialist VC agency solely devoted to healthtech. It invests in early-stage firms throughout Europe and globally, specializing in digital well being options and applied sciences that allow higher healthcare supply.
Typical investments vary from €100K to €1 million. With its sector-specific experience and worldwide attain, Nina Capital bridges the hole between healthcare innovators and markets, serving to its portfolio firms develop into impactful ventures.
Sofinnova Companions: Headquartered in Paris, Sofinnova is one in every of Europe’s main enterprise capital corporations targeted on life sciences. Based in 1972, it specialises in backing biotech, medtech, and digital well being firms throughout all improvement levels, from seed to later rounds.
The agency manages a number of funds and usually begins with tickets from €1 million upwards. With over 500 investments made, Sofinnova has helped construct world leaders in healthcare innovation and continues to play a serious position in Europe’s biotech success tales. In the present day, Sofinnova Companions has over €4 billion underneath administration.
Ysios Capital: Based in 2008 and headquartered in Barcelona and San Sebastian, Ysios Capital is one in every of Spain’s main unbiased enterprise capital corporations targeted solely on life sciences. The agency backs early- and mid-stage biotech firms growing disruptive therapeutic merchandise and platform applied sciences, with the ambition of addressing excessive unmet medical wants. With over €400 million in property underneath administration, Ysios has already helped carry greater than 15 medical merchandise from lab to market and has supported over 40 merchandise in medical improvement.
The agency usually invests tickets between €5 million and €15 million, with reserves for follow-on rounds. Its worldwide crew combines scientific, monetary, and entrepreneurial experience to help portfolio firms in scaling globally. By funding transformative biotech ventures throughout Europe and the US, Ysios Capital has established itself as a serious driver of medical innovation and a key participant in strengthening Spain’s biotech ecosystem.
Wellington Companions: Headquartered in Munich with extra places of work in London, Zurich, and Palo Alto, Wellington Companions is one in every of Europe’s main enterprise capital corporations with greater than €800 million underneath administration. Based in 1998, the agency invests throughout expertise and life sciences, with a robust monitor report of serving to entrepreneurs scale internationally. Its sector focus spans medtech, diagnostics, therapeutics, biotech, software program, digital media, and industrial applied sciences.
Wellington usually leads rounds starting from €0.5 million to €20 million, with commitments of as much as €15 million relying on firm maturity. Up to now, it has invested in additional than 100 firms throughout Europe, backing each breakthrough improvements and scalable enterprise fashions. Past capital, Wellington offers its portfolio with entry to strategic steerage, a world community, and hands-on help, making it a long-standing accomplice in constructing European success tales.
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