World’s first autonomous blood drawing device raises €12M funding
Vitestro, a Netherland-based startup, has raised €12 million in Series A financing for its autonomous blood drawing device. The funding round was led by Sonder Capital, a California-based venture capital firm, along with participation from existing investors and new private investors from the clinical laboratory and medtech industry.
Vitestro’s device combines AI-based, ultrasound-guided 3D reconstruction with robotic needle insertion, making blood collection accurate and secure. The device has already been tested on over 1,000 patients, and clinical studies will continue in 2023, with European market introduction anticipated in 2024.
According to the company, automating blood drawing is the next evolution for clinical laboratories, allowing them to improve the quality of care for patients while building a more sustainable operation. Blood drawing is performed billions of times per year worldwide and plays a pivotal role in clinical diagnostics. However, it is impacted by a shortage of skilled healthcare workers.
Toon Overbeeke, CEO and co-founder of Vitestro, says that the financing round marks a new phase of growth for Vitestro, bringing the company closer to its mission of improving the venipuncture procedure for hundreds of millions of patients per year. Overbeeke adds, “We look forward to growing the business and transforming patient care with Sonder Capital, leveraging their expertise in successfully commercializing medical robotic technologies.”
Dr. Fred Moll, Managing Partner of Sonder Capital and known as ‘the father of medical robotics,’ has been appointed as a non-executive board member of Vitestro. He comments that medical robotics will make optimal outcomes available to everyone, and he strongly believes Vitestro will set the world standard in autonomous blood drawing.
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