Ascend invests in four start-ups as part of medtech and mobility strategy

Ascend Capital Partners (Ascend) has announced four successful investments this year into Piur imaging, Nanoflex Robotics, MXD and DriveU.auto, part of an initiative to invest up to €60 million over the next few years into mobility and medtech start-ups across Europe and Asia.

Founded by Monita Mo, founding partner and a serial entrepreneur, Ascend takes a distinctive approach as a lead investor in start-ups, actively advising and guiding investments at the board level and operationally. Since 2002, Ascend has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in returns from successful investments across Asia and Europe.

Jerry Hong, CEO of Ascend, said: “I believe that the healthcare and mobility sectors have the ability to change how we live. Healthcare guides how humans treat life-threatening diseases and provides preventative measures so that we can live longer and healthier lives. Mobility helps us live fulfilling lives by enabling us to travel to places that enrich our life experiences. We also have our internal environmental, social, and governance goals that we adhere to when assessing potential investments. Both of these sectors have direct and indirect impact on our livelihood, and I am proud that my team and I have worked hard to move these industries forward. I want to leverage our team’s skills to help others live better lives.”

Following the successful exit of Grundium Oy and the strong performance of the wider portfolio, Ascend is launching its second wave of investments into industry-changing tech companies. So far, the firm has closed four deals this year, and has its sights set on further investments into medtech and mobility sectors. New investments so far include:

Piur imaging is an Austria-based company that has a hardware/software solution that turns any standard ultrasound system into a tomographic imaging device, bridging the gap between 2D ultrasound and standard 3D imaging modalities. The technology enables tomographic 3D ultrasound imaging for a range of clinical applications. The company’s main focus is currently on thyroid nodule diagnosis, but the technology can be used for all vascular diseases including nerve imaging. The Series A deal first closed in March with Ascend as the lead investor investing a total of €2.13 million. The money is used to accomplish FDA and CE certifications and to ramp up sales.

Nanoflex is developing a robotic system that allows the precise movement of specially made catheters using electromagnetic controls. The electromagnetic technology, which has been developed for decades out of the ETH in Zurich, enables surgeons to quickly and accurately navigate catheters with extreme precision throughout the vascular system. Nanoflex’s first market entry into the stroke space proves its ability to tackle the most complex vessel systems in the brain. Ascend led Nanoflex’s Series A investment round with €5 million. The money is used to grow the team at a faster rate and move along their clinical regulatory pathway.

MXD is a Shanghai-based start-up that focuses on automotive chassis domain control. The company offers intelligent chassis domain control computing platform solutions based on artificial intelligence, novel fusion algorithms, digital twins, and machine learning. MXD can provide various solutions, from system-on-a-chip (SoC) to a full range of wired chassis core component systems to meet the different needs of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers. As the principal investor Ascend invested $5 million in seed funding. The money is used to establish offices and manufacturing space and ramp up commercialisation efforts.

Frederik Bender, CEO of Piur Imaging, said: “We are delighted to have Ascend on board as the lead investor in our Series A round. We see Ascend as a valuable and proactive investor that is able to help us to improve our internal operations and provide us valuable business connections. Within the first few months of investment, Ascend has proven their ability by bringing on new investment partners and opening up a business connection to the Chinese market. We are grateful for Ascend’s business expertise and look forward to growing with them.”

At this stage Ascend is looking to invest in up to 10 start-ups in the mobility and medtech sectors, and is particularly interested in companies that have growth potential in Asia. While Ascend usually takes on the lead investor role, it is open to co-investments and syndicate partners that align with its strategic thinking.

Ascend has been committed to Europe since 2012 when they made their investment into a Luxembourg seatbelt sensor company, IEE, which experienced a successful exit in 2016. By 2017 Ascend had already begun their portfolio investment strategy into a range of European tech start-ups, actively helping them to scale globally. Ascend’s diverse team of skilled professionals continues to work hard to source and manage investments and, alongside an advisory board of industry veterans, to act as a bridge between European innovation and Asian growth opportunities.