The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Health is a network of best-in-class health innovators backed by the EU. It delivers solutions to enable European citizens to live longer, healthier lives by promoting innovation through connecting the right people and the right topics across European borders, so that innovation can happen at the intersection of research, education and business.
So why are some of Europe’s best digital health startups turning up in a small town in Germany? The simple answer is this small town is actually a medtech powerhouse, thanks to an organisation called Medical Valley. Medical Valley’s strength is in the extraordinary cluster of universities (80 institutions with a focus on medtech), large manufacturers like Siemens, 500 businesses focused on healthcare, and regional and federal government support. This medtech hub creates the perfect environment for best-in-class research and development processes.
This was evident in the quality of the startups that were pitching, many of which were already part of the Medical Valley accelerator programme, despite coming from all corners of Europe.
The startups were pitching for a total of €65m and were generally in the sweet spot for the European Super Angels Club – i.e. they had some form of AAR, had repeat customers within their domestic market and were now looking for cash and contacts to fuel their next stage of growth. Four of the startups have now applied for funding through ESAC’s online Venture360 platform and are undergoing the first stages of due diligence.
ESAC is very much looking forward to working more closely with EIT Health and its partners over the coming months, particularly with the newly launched Investor Network which is being run by Angels Santé. Indeed our Head Analyst, Aleksandar Vucicevic, is attending the EIT Investors Roundtable on 13th November in Berlin – if you would like to hear more about ESAC, please contact him at: