Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Quibim, a Spain-based medical imaging diagnostics technology company exploiting International Cancer Imaging Society and Medical Research Institute La Fe (IIS La Fe) research, yesterday completed an $8m seed round with involvement from Tech Transfer UPV, the university venturing fund for Universitat Politècnica de València. The round was co-led by venture firms Amadeus Capital Partners and Adara Ventures, and also included Apex Ventures, Partech, Crista Galli Ventures and undisclosed existing shareholders. Founded in 2012, Quibim develops algorithm-driven software to scan medical radiology scans for biomarkers of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, osteoarthritis and liver disease. The company recently launched software for detecting and classifying Covid-19 and now plans to invest in further AI-based radiology products. Quibim was co-founded by Ángel Alberich-Bayarri, a research collaborator at IIS La Fe’s biomedical imaging group, and Luis Marti-Bonmati, professor at the International Cancer Imaging Society.
Roundtrip, a US-based medical transport portal, closed a $4m round yesterday featuring Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and UH Ventures, the commercialisation arm of hospital system University Hospitals. The round was led by Motley Fool Ventures, the corporate venturing fund for financial advisory service Motley Fool, with participation from medical device supplier Zoll Medical, part of health products group Asahi Kasei, as well as public-private seed fund Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania and investment fund Grays Ferry Capital. Roundtrip connects patients to medical transport drivers via its booking software, enabling them to travel to appointments more easily. The platform runs transport accounts on behalf of clients in more than 40 US states, including government research centre National Institutes of Health and health insurer Community Health Plan of Washington. Roundtrip previously closed a Motley Fool Ventures-led $5.1m series A round in May 2019 with commitments from Johns Hopkins University and an unnamed healthcare software and medical device producer, after a $1.9m seed round featuring JHU, Ben Franklin Technology, Abell Foundation and Brown Advisory in early 2018.
Orca Computing, a UK-based quantum computing technology spinout of University of Oxford, yesterday raised £2.9m ($3.7m) in a seed round featuring university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation. The round was led by Atmos Ventures and also included Quantonation, in addition to three grant awards from UK innovation agency Innovate UK. Founded in October 2019, Orca is looking to build quantum computers that leverage optical fibres to transmit photons at higher quality than competing approaches. Orca’s first product is a scaled-down quantum computer intended for development purposes. Longer-term, the company hopes to commercialise error-resistant systems capable of outperforming classical technology.
Locate Bio, a UK-based spinal injury treatment spinout of University of Nottingham, closed a £2.3m ($2.9m) round on Monday led by investment firm Mercia Asset Management, which invested directly and through two funds under its management: EIS Fund and Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, the latter forming part of government-backed regional venture unit Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF). UK government-run Future Fund also took part in the round. Locate Bio is working on regenerative cell and gene-based therapies to help restore damaged tissues in the spine. It is currently prioritising a preclinical-stage bone protein compound for patients usually prescribed surgery to meld spinal vertebrae together, while a second therapy would address degenerative disc disease, an age-related condition that causes back pain. The investment will help progress Locate’s research pipeline, following a $2.6m round in May 2019 led by Mercia and featuring MEIF. Locate Bio had already raised $660,000 from Mercia in October 2018, after a $2.7m round in 2017 that included $541,700 from Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund.
Vision Semantics, a UK-based video forensic analysis software spinout of Queen Mary, University of London, received an undisclosed amount of funding across multiple tranches between October 2018 and October 2019 from telecoms equipment and services provider Huawei, according to The Times. Huawei’s decision was reportedly motivated by the UK government’s recent decision to prohibit the corporate’s involvement in 5G telecoms infrastructure. Vision Semantics provides a range of software tools for forensic video analysis, including search functionality and the ability to profile crowds of people. The company does not appear to have disclosed equity funding previously.
