London-based MedTech CoMind has raised $102.5 million (£76.7m) to advance its non-invasive brain monitoring technology aimed at transforming care for critically ill patients.
The round was led by Plural, the investment firm founded by tech entrepreneurs including Taavet Hinrikus and Ian Hogarth, with participation from Angelini Ventures, LocalGlobe, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First.
The funding will be used to complete clinical trials, scale manufacturing and secure regulatory approval for its first product, CoMind One.
Founded in 2018 by engineer and neuroscientist James Dacombe, the business is developing technology that provides doctors with continuous, real-time insights into a patient’s brain health, without the need for invasive procedures.
The company’s device measures key neurological signals such as cerebral blood flow, cerebral autoregulation and intracranial pressure – data which can help clinicians make faster and more accurate treatment decisions in intensive care.
Brain monitoring in hospitals remains a trade-off between accuracy and safety, with invasive procedures, which involve drilling into the skull to insert a probe, are highly accurate but risky and costly.
On the other hand, non-invasive methods, such as ultrasound or near-infrared spectroscopy, are safer but often unreliable and difficult to interpret.
CoMind’s technology aims to close this gap by combining novel sensor hardware with advanced data analytics, making critical information available at the bedside in real time.
In a statement announcing the raise, CoMind said its mission is to “redefine the way the brain is measured and treated”, adding that its latest funding will help bring its technology closer to real-world use.
The investment marks one of the largest healthtech funding rounds in Europe this year.
While still in development, CoMind One is expected to play a role in treating patients with brain injuries, stroke and trauma, where continuous, reliable brain monitoring can be the difference between recovery and irreversible damage.
The company says its system could also support research into neurological disorders by providing more accurate, longitudinal data on brain function.
CoMind said: “For decades, doctors treating critically ill patients have been forced to compromise when monitoring the brain: use risky, expensive, highly invasive procedures that require drilling a hole into a patient’s skull, or rely on inaccurate non-invasive monitoring that can compromise treatment decisions.
“CoMind’s technology resolves this dilemma for the first time.”
The startup is now working towards regulatory submission for CoMind One and expanding partnerships with hospitals and manufacturers as it prepares for commercial deployment.