Cottonwood Technology Fund invests €1M in Dutch medical chip firm Sencure
April 29, 2021 – Cottonwood Technology Fund has made a €1 million investment in Dutch medical chip firm Secure. The deal marks the fourth impact investment made by Cottonwood Technology Fund III.
Sencure will develop an ultra-low power biometric sensing chip offering wearable biometric solutions across a wide range of applications for medical technology companies. The comprehensive uses of the technology include easier (remote) patient monitoring and diagnostics for cardiac cases, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), children’s asthma, neurological cases and Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, as well as enabling ICU grade ventilation and monitoring of vital signs. It can be used across multiple products, for monitoring COVID-19 symptoms, enabling better training or rehabilitation for athletes and more generally to monitor stress and activity levels in people’s daily lives.
Sencure’s biometric sensing chip is the result of five years’ effort in designing electronic systems and signal processing algorithms for electrophysiological diagnostic and monitoring systems to deliver medical-grade accuracy. It is set to significantly outperform medical chips from current manufacturers in terms of both price and quality. Competitive advantages include a much lower power consumption and smaller size, allowing for wide-scale market adoption.
Cottonwood Technology Fund’s financing, together with €500,000 from co-investor Lumana Invest, will be used for filing patent applications to protect Sencure’s unique IP, as well as for development and the global rollout of Sencure’s products. This investment allows Cottonwood to support the remote patient monitoring market and reduce healthcare costs on a global scale.
The global medical wearables market alone is projected to reach $19.5 billion by 2025 from $7.4 billion in 2020. This growth is the result of a greater uptake of mobile technologies among both patients and healthcare professionals, an increasing penetration of 4G/5G networks, a larger number of connected devices for chronic disease management, and the growing demand for home care services.
Jurryt Vellinga, CEO and Cofounder, Sencure: “In our search to find an investor that provided both seed funding expertise and a worldwide network of potentials partners and customers, we found Cottonwood right in our backyard. They are the perfect fit for Sencure with their direct way of communicating, and straightforward and reliable people. Together, we make a great team, bringing technology to the market that will change the lives of millions of patients worldwide.”
Alain le Loux, General Partner, Cottonwood Technology Fund: “Cottonwood has known and worked with Sencure’s team members for several years now, and strongly believes in their ability to further develop the company. We contacted all potential customers for Sencure, and were surprised to learn Sencure’s biometric sensing chip is the first in the market to be recognized by customers as ‘best-in-class technology’.’’
Other investments made by Cottonwood Technology Fund III include flexible solar cell company mPower Technology and follow-on investments in BayoTech (hydrogen production) and Infinitum Electric (disrupting the electro motor market).
— ENDS —
About Cottonwood Technology Fund
Cottonwood Technology Fund is, according to Preqin’s latest reporting, a top-decile performing early-stage venture capital fund. Its investment focus is on hard science and deeptech, providing (pre-)seed and early-stage funding to IP-driven companies. Cottonwood makes impact investments in Key Enabling Technologies, like Photonics/ Optics, Micro- & Nanoelectronics, Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology, Medical Technology, Cleantech/ Energy Transition, Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics. Cottonwood recently launched its third fund focused on business originating across Southwestern America and Northwestern Europe, including numerous national laboratories, major research universities and research centers. Current and prior investments include Skorpios Technologies, FibeRio (acquired by Clarcor), xF Technologies, Eurekite, Sarcos Robotics (NASDAQ STRC), BayoTech, Respira Therapeutics, Infinitum Electric, Trilumina (acquired by Lumentum), SoundEnergy, OPNT and Exagen (NASDAQ XGN). For more information, please visit www.cottonwood.vc.
About Sencure
Sencure is an engineering and design company focused on medical devices for monitoring and diagnostic purposes, and wearable biometric sensor technology. Sencure has developed an extensive library of signal processing algorithms that can be implemented in medical devices on an IP license basis. Sencure develops the next generation of textile integrated medical wearables that enable customers to provide patients with the highest level of comfort during monitoring and measurement in real life situations. For more information, please visit www.sencure.com.
