Lithuanian medtech Sentante raised €6M from Practica Capital and EIC fund
Kaunas-based startup Sentante, which manufactures a fully robotic teleoperated system for endovascular interventions, raised €6M from lead investor Lithuanian Practica Capital with the participation of the EIC fund (the investment arm of the European Innovation Council).
Founded in 2020 by Tomas Baltrunas, Edvardas Satkauskas, Vilius Dambrauskas, Evaldas Kalvaitis, and Vaidas Labunskas, Sentante developed a sensory, teleoperated robot system, that allows the endovascular intervention of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, heart attacks, and peripheral artery disease. As a result, physicians and medical teams can work without being exposed to harmful X-ray radiation. Currently, this procedure is performed manually, and apart from prolonged X-ray exposure on surgeons and nurses, it has a high risk of medical errors and complications due to the non-ergonomic workspace.
Sentante's robot system is controlled intuitively with the help of endovascular devices such as guidewires and catheters. The device senses the surgeon's movements, providing a near-natural haptic force feedback experience. At the same time, the physicians can feel the catheter and guidewire resistance as if they were standing near the patient. In the future, Sentante expects to perform endovascular treatment from a remote hospital or another town.
The startup will use the investment for the planned clinical trial of the Sentante robotic system and preparation for commercial launch in international markets. The company plans to start its first-in-human clinical study in 2024.
In 2021, Sentante was accepted into the EIC Accelerator and received blended financial support from it. Back then, the accelerator provided the startup with €2,5M grant, and this year, it received equity investment. In 2023, Sentante also joined the non-equity acceleration program of Los Angeles-based MedTech Innovator. The company was selected out of 1,1K companies.
Founded in 2012, Vilnius-based Practica Capital focuses on investments in the Baltic and Baltic-origin ventures in Europe. It has made over 60 investments and has supported Lithuanian startups PVcase, Interactio, Oxipit, Atrandi, Biomatter Designs, Montonio, Ovoko, London-based TransferGo, and others. Practica Capital manages four funds with a total market value of the investments (AUM) of €130M. Practica's partners are Tomas Andriuškevičius, Gintas Daniusevičius, Anatolijus Faktorovicius, and Arvydas Bloze. The founding partner is Donatas Keras.
EIC Accelerator offers startups grants of up to €2,5M, which can be combined with equity investments from €0,5M to €15M. The equity investments are provided by the EIC Fund. In addition to financial support, all projects benefit from a range of Business Acceleration Services that provide access to expertise, corporates, investors, and ecosystem actors. The application and evaluation process in the accelerator program is managed by the EIC and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA).
