No drill required: London’s CoMind raises €85 million to replace invasive brain monitoring

CoMind, a British neurological HealthTech startup, has secured over €85 million in total funding as it scales its neuromonitoring technology that measures critical brain parameters without the need for drilling into the skull.

The company’s most recent round brought in €51 million, led by Plural, with participation from longstanding backers including LocalGlobe, Latitude, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Angelini Ventures, and Lord David Prior. This investment will support the company’s US clinical trials, regulatory approval journey, and manufacturing partnerships, as CoMind prepares to scale globally.

“James is truly a generational Founder and partnering with him and his team has been one of our great privileges as investors. We couldn’t be more excited to continue supporting them as they redefine how the brain is measured, and, ultimately, how it’s treated,” said Julia Hawkins, General Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude, in a public statement. Hawkins previously appeared in a 2024 episode of the EU-Startups podcast, where CoMind was mentioned among her portfolio companies.

Recent examples of similar funding in this sector include Switzerland’s Rhovica Neuroimaging, which raised €2.5 million to advance an emergency neurosurgical navigation tool; Spain’s Quibim, securing €47.9 million to expand its imaging biomarker and “human digital twin” platform; and the UK’s Neu Health, which closed €1.9 million for its AI-based Parkinson’s and dementia care app. Belgium’s Koios Care also joined the wave with €1 million to enhance passive neurology monitoring through smartphones and wearables.

Compared with these, CoMind’s €51 million round – bringing its total above €85 million – stands out as one of the largest in European neuro-device funding this year, underscoring both investor confidence in non-invasive brain technologies and the UK’s growing role in the continent’s HealthTech innovation landscape.

“CoMind is redefining how the brain is measured, entirely non-invasively, using breakthroughs in photonics, replacing a puncture through the skull,” added Hawkins.

Founded in 2018 by 25-year old James Dacombe, CoMind is aiming to revolutionise how clinicians monitor the brain – entirely non-invasively. Its flagship product, CoMind One, utilises low-power laser light to measure critical brain parameters such as cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure without the need for drilling into the skull.

The device marks a leap in brain monitoring, especially for use in intensive care units, surgical theatres, and neuro-critical settings.

The company’s leadership team includes Frank Fischer (Chair), a Silicon Valley MedTech Founder, Dr Michael Tarnoff (Board Member), former CEO of Tufts Medical Center, and Professor Marc Bloom (CMO), Chief of Neuroanesthesia at the University of Miami.

In addition, CoMind is advised by clinical experts from Johns Hopkins, Harvard Medical School, and the Cleveland Clinic, lending credibility and depth to its medical ambitions.

The latest round follows a commercial collaboration with GE Healthcare in the US – an early signal of demand from major medical device players. Regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration is expected by 2027.

CoMind’s initial market focus is traumatic brain injury (TBI), a space where current practice still relies on invasive procedures. With the potential to replace these techniques entirely, CoMind One could positively impact millions of patients annually.

The addressable market in neuro-critical care, including surgery and intensive care, reportedly exceeds 50 million patients per year in the US alone.

If Intuitive Surgical made robotic surgery mainstream, CoMind seems poised to do the same for non-invasive brain monitoring. The startup’s first-mover advantage, ability to create high-value medical datasets, and platform scalability are all factors that could propel it into similar territory, with the added benefit of enabling personalised medicine through AI.

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