Medical AI Companies Lead the Expansion of Wearable Startups
[Medical Times = Reporter In-bok Lee]
As the medical device industry is being recognized as a core infrastructure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, attention is being drawn to the continued influx of investment funds amounting to hundreds of billions of won.
Large-scale Series B and C investments are being made in companies just three to four years after founding, driving the industry forward. This trend raises expectations for the emergence of unicorn companies within the next few years.
Medical AI Diagnostic Device Industry Drives Growth… Investments Reach Hundreds of Billions of Won
The company that has most recently drawn attention with a large-scale funding round is Lunit, a medical artificial intelligence imaging diagnostics company.
Riding the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, large-scale investments in medical device companies continue.
After securing KRW 30 billion in Series C funding last year through its flagship product, the chest X-ray–based deep learning diagnostic support device “Lunit INSIGHT,” Lunit is now in the final stages of negotiations to secure an additional KRW 30 billion investment from overseas strategic investors (SIs).
This achievement comes just three years after receiving KRW 16 billion through a Series B round in 2018. Notably, overseas investment firms have participated in this round, highlighting the company’s potential for global expansion.
In the current Series C round, existing shareholders—including Legend Capital, China’s largest venture capital firm—along with InterVest, IMM Investment, and Kakao Ventures, contributed additional funding.
In addition, Shinhan Investment Corp., NH Investment & Securities, and LG CNS joined as new investors. The participation of Shinhan Investment and NH Investment & Securities is seen as a signal pointing toward a potential initial public offering (IPO).
A representative from Shinhan Investment commented, “Medical artificial intelligence businesses that utilize pathology data are already gaining traction worldwide,” adding, “The value of Lunit’s system is expected to increase significantly.”
Similarly, Huino, which develops medical AI–based wearable devices, has recently accelerated its business after securing KRW 20 billion in Series B funding.
Huino’s watch-type electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring device, Memo Watch, has attracted attention as the first wearable device in Korea to receive approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service.
Although the device initially sparked controversy over issues such as telemedicine, drawing opposition from the medical community including the Korean Medical Association, its potential has since been recognized, leading to continued large-scale investment.
In this Series B round, existing investor Smilegate Investment provided additional funding, while new investors—including Korea Development Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and Shinhan Capital—joined in large numbers.
In addition, Yuhan Corporation made an additional investment in an unusual move, signaling new possibilities, while venture capital firms such as Synergy IB Investment also contributed significant funding. As a result, Huino plans to commercialize Memo Watch and Memo Patch with a total investment of KRW 35.8 billion.
Wearable Devices Gain Spotlight… Series A and B Investments Continue
As medical devices gain attention as a next-generation growth engine, large-scale investments in startups are also continuing. While medical AI and wearable devices dominate the space, interest in domestically developed products is also increasing.
An increasing number of companies are advancing from Series A to Series C within just three to four years.
A representative example is Ibex Medical Systems, which recently secured approximately KRW 3 billion in Series A funding from venture capital firms including Tigris Investment.
Ibex Medical Systems is the first company in Korea to develop and distribute hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, and has secured major clients such as Asan Medical Center in Seoul.
By localizing hyperbaric oxygen therapy devices that had previously relied entirely on imports, the company has successfully attracted investment. This round of funding will be used as foundational capital to establish large-scale production facilities.
Using a different approach, Curiosis secured KRW 6 billion in funding through redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS). The funds will serve as foundational capital for the commercialization of its cell analyzer, a device used by pharmaceutical companies to develop cell therapies.
Curiosis plans to manufacture the device at its factory completed last year and obtain product certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety this year.
These plans have already been recognized by the Pan-Ministry Medical Device Development Project Group, which has provided KRW 5.4 billion in government funding. In this investment round, L&S Venture Capital, Daekyo Investment, and SJ Investment Partners joined with additional investments ranging from KRW 1 billion to KRW 3 billion.
MedInTech, which is developing domestically produced flexible endoscopes, also successfully secured Series A investment from FuturePlay, effectively raising seed-stage funding during its development phase.
After gaining recognition by winning an award at ‘K-Global@China 2020,’ hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, MedInTech has been developing a flexible endoscope that features motorized control of the scope’s operation unit while reducing weight by half to improve usability. With this investment, MedInTech plans to fund development and move toward mass production.
Chi-won Lee, CEO of MedInTech, stated, “We expect to make a significant contribution to the localization of endoscopes, which currently rely heavily on Japanese products,” adding, “Through this investment, we will accelerate regulatory approval and mass production of flexible endoscopes.”
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http://www.medicaltimes.com/Users/News/NewsView.html?mode=view&ID=1138277&REFERER=NP
Medical AI Companies Lead the Expansion of Wearable Startups
[Medical Times = Reporter In-bok Lee]
As the medical device industry is being recognized as a core infrastructure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, attention is being drawn to the continued influx of investment funds amounting to hundreds of billions of won.
Large-scale Series B and C investments are being made in companies just three to four years after founding, driving the industry forward. This trend raises expectations for the emergence of unicorn companies within the next few years.
Medical AI Diagnostic Device Industry Drives Growth… Investments Reach Hundreds of Billions of Won
The company that has most recently drawn attention with a large-scale funding round is Lunit, a medical artificial intelligence imaging diagnostics company.
Riding the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, large-scale investments in medical device companies continue.
After securing KRW 30 billion in Series C funding last year through its flagship product, the chest X-ray–based deep learning diagnostic support device “Lunit INSIGHT,” Lunit is now in the final stages of negotiations to secure an additional KRW 30 billion investment from overseas strategic investors (SIs).
This achievement comes just three years after receiving KRW 16 billion through a Series B round in 2018. Notably, overseas investment firms have participated in this round, highlighting the company’s potential for global expansion.
In the current Series C round, existing shareholders—including Legend Capital, China’s largest venture capital firm—along with InterVest, IMM Investment, and Kakao Ventures, contributed additional funding.
In addition, Shinhan Investment Corp., NH Investment & Securities, and LG CNS joined as new investors. The participation of Shinhan Investment and NH Investment & Securities is seen as a signal pointing toward a potential initial public offering (IPO).
A representative from Shinhan Investment commented, “Medical artificial intelligence businesses that utilize pathology data are already gaining traction worldwide,” adding, “The value of Lunit’s system is expected to increase significantly.”
Similarly, Huino, which develops medical AI–based wearable devices, has recently accelerated its business after securing KRW 20 billion in Series B funding.
Huino’s watch-type electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring device, Memo Watch, has attracted attention as the first wearable device in Korea to receive approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service.
Although the device initially sparked controversy over issues such as telemedicine, drawing opposition from the medical community including the Korean Medical Association, its potential has since been recognized, leading to continued large-scale investment.
In this Series B round, existing investor Smilegate Investment provided additional funding, while new investors—including Korea Development Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and Shinhan Capital—joined in large numbers.
In addition, Yuhan Corporation made an additional investment in an unusual move, signaling new possibilities, while venture capital firms such as Synergy IB Investment also contributed significant funding. As a result, Huino plans to commercialize Memo Watch and Memo Patch with a total investment of KRW 35.8 billion.
Wearable Devices Gain Spotlight… Series A and B Investments Continue
As medical devices gain attention as a next-generation growth engine, large-scale investments in startups are also continuing. While medical AI and wearable devices dominate the space, interest in domestically developed products is also increasing.
An increasing number of companies are advancing from Series A to Series C within just three to four years.
A representative example is Ibex Medical Systems, which recently secured approximately KRW 3 billion in Series A funding from venture capital firms including Tigris Investment.
Ibex Medical Systems is the first company in Korea to develop and distribute hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, and has secured major clients such as Asan Medical Center in Seoul.
By localizing hyperbaric oxygen therapy devices that had previously relied entirely on imports, the company has successfully attracted investment. This round of funding will be used as foundational capital to establish large-scale production facilities.
Using a different approach, Curiosis secured KRW 6 billion in funding through redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS). The funds will serve as foundational capital for the commercialization of its cell analyzer, a device used by pharmaceutical companies to develop cell therapies.
Curiosis plans to manufacture the device at its factory completed last year and obtain product certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety this year.
These plans have already been recognized by the Pan-Ministry Medical Device Development Project Group, which has provided KRW 5.4 billion in government funding. In this investment round, L&S Venture Capital, Daekyo Investment, and SJ Investment Partners joined with additional investments ranging from KRW 1 billion to KRW 3 billion.
MedInTech, which is developing domestically produced flexible endoscopes, also successfully secured Series A investment from FuturePlay, effectively raising seed-stage funding during its development phase.
After gaining recognition by winning an award at ‘K-Global@China 2020,’ hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, MedInTech has been developing a flexible endoscope that features motorized control of the scope’s operation unit while reducing weight by half to improve usability. With this investment, MedInTech plans to fund development and move toward mass production.
Chi-won Lee, CEO of MedInTech, stated, “We expect to make a significant contribution to the localization of endoscopes, which currently rely heavily on Japanese products,” adding, “Through this investment, we will accelerate regulatory approval and mass production of flexible endoscopes.”
View the original article
http://www.medicaltimes.com/Users/News/NewsView.html?mode=view&ID=1138277&REFERER=NP