The Most Active VCs In Medical Devices and Their Investments In One Infographic

Funding to medical device startups is on track to pick back up this year, following a 13% year-over-year drop in 2015.

Since 2012, venture capital dollars have been distributed across the category into a variety of startups focused on advancing medical diagnostics, imaging, surgery, and genomics, among other specialties.

Six of the VCs listed below invest exclusively in the life sciences. These include Versant Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, OrbiMed Advisors, SV Life Sciences, Domain Associates, and De Novo Ventures. NEA, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Interwest Partners focus on both IT and healthcare while High-Tech Gruenderfonds supports-early stage technology companies across sectors.

Other than High-Tech Gruenderfonds, which backed 15 seed or Series A deals since 2012, Versant Ventures was the only investor with more than 1 deal to an early-stage medical device company. 

Which firms are most active? We used CB Insights data to rank VCs by their unique medical device investments over the past 4 years.

NEA and Versant Ventures top the list as the two most active investors in medical device startups. (However, neither make the top five among the most active early-stage investors overall in the category during 2012-2016.) Some other takeaways from our infographic:

• In the past year, NEA has invested in an array of medical device businesses including EarLens, CVRx, and Spine Wave. EarLens develops a light-based hearing aid, CVRx developed an implantable device that uses the body’s baroreceptor reflex to lower blood pressure, and Spine Wave produces devices intended for use in spinal surgeries such as vertebral compression fracture repair. 
• The healthcare focused Versant Ventures came in second as the most active medical device investor since 2012. They have recently taken part in two Series F rounds to Minerva Surgical, which developed an FDA-approved endometrial ablation system to treat heavy menstrual bleeding, and Benvenue Medical, which develops spinal implants and devices geared towards spinal surgery.
• The third- and fourth-most active VCs investing in medical devices were Germany based High-Tech Gruenderfonds and NYC based OrbiMed Advisors, High-Tech Gruenderfonds, which tops the list of early-stage investors, recently contributed to SeNostic’s seed round and provided early capital to Abviris.
• Other firms listed include the venture arm of Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, as well as Morgenthaler Ventures, SV Life Sciences, InterWest Partners, Domain Associates, and De Novo Ventures. The most common co-investment among these VCs is Benvenue Medical, which is backed by four of the investors listed below — Versant Ventures, InterWest Partners, Domain Associates, and De Novo Ventures.

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