CorWave has raised €61 million to fund its first industrial deployment and entry into clinical trials.
SPI fund, managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French Government as part of France 2030, and leading family controlled entrepreneurial groups were the main investors of this second closing.
Founded in 2012, CorWave’s has developed a next-generation heart pump based on a breakthrough technology, the wave membrane pump.
The Société de Projets Industriels (SPI) fund, managed by Bpifrance, is making a major contribution to this capital increase, with an investment of €15 million. European investors are investing €11 million, including Exor Ventures, controlled by the Agnelli family, and Vlerick Group.
Magali Joëssel, managing director of the SPI fund, said: “We were particularly impressed by CorWave’s value proposition. Its wave membrane heart pump will provide a new solution to a major public health issue: heart failure. Supporting CorWave’s industrialisation project is fully in line with the SPI fund’s raison d’être, being a partner to industrial start-ups manufacturing high value-added products in France.”
Louis de Lillers, chief executive officer of CorWave, commented: “We are delighted to welcome new reference shareholders with an in-depth understanding of the industrial world. The SPI fund has financed about 20 major industrial projects since 2015. Exor Ventures and Vlerick Group were started by major industrial families. These investments are the result of demanding selection processes that demonstrate the relevance of our disruptive product and the seriousness of the work carried out by our teams. These funds will enable us to pursue our mission with the aim of improving the lives of advanced heart failure patients around the world.”
At the first closing of Round C, the company raised €35 million from returning investors (Sofinnova Partners, Seventure Partners, Bpifrance, Novo Holdings and Ysios Capital) and new investors (EIC Fund, Arbevel, M&L Healthcare).
