Lab equipment obtains an additional £1 million through the development of a 'flight simulator'
Envoke Raises Additional Funding, Expands in Medical Device E-Learning
In a significant move, Envoke, a UK-based platform specialising in product demonstrations, has announced its expansion into the medical device sector. The company has raised an additional £1 million in funding, bringing its annual recurring revenue close to doubling in the past 12 months.
Founded in 2019, Envoke has now ventured into offering e-learning solutions for medical devices, remote support, and an AI-powered diagnosis tool for troubleshooting. The platform creates a virtual model of each medical laboratory machine, making it a valuable tool for training and maintenance purposes.
The additional funding comes from Finance Yorkshire's Seedcorn Fund, which has also pledged to make further investments worth £50 million by 2027, following a positive review of its investment performance over the last three years. This investment aims to support 55 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), creating and safeguarding over 700 jobs by 2027.
Major clients of Envoke include Bio-Rad, Waters Corporation, PacBio, Grifols, and the Terumo Group. The platform is currently being used in laboratories worldwide, including the NHS, other health services, and leading universities. Following the latest funding, Envoke plans to create two new jobs in the coming months.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project, supported financially by the European Union and the European Investment Bank, is another source of funding for Envoke. The Development Bank of Wales has also invested £500,000 in a medtech business, with the investment coming from NPIF - Mercia Equity Finance, managed by Mercia.
While there is no direct evidence of medical device manufacturing companies securing dedicated investment for e-learning or remote support systems for medical equipment in recent public sources, investments tend to be in healthcare IT companies or broader healthtech firms rather than device-specific e-learning platforms.
However, related sectors and companies involved in healthcare technology, AI solutions, and healthcare optimization platforms have received investments that could be adjacent or supportive of such development. For instance, LeanTaaS, a healthcare software company combining AI, predictive analytics, and machine learning to optimise hospital operations, recently received growth investment from Bain Capital.
In the HR/edtech sector, Instructure (formerly behind Canvas LMS) has launched Canvas Career, a workforce upskilling platform. Though not a medical device company, this example suggests that education technology companies working in professional upskilling are active in adjacent health and corporate training markets.
Y Combinator has funded multiple eLearning startups, some of which might intersect with healthcare or medical training, but no direct link to medical device manufacturing firms creating e-learning or remote support is specified.
Lizzy Upton, senior manager at the British Business Bank, has expressed positive sentiment about Envoke's success and growth. Eventum Orthopaedics, a sensor company, has also secured £3.8 million for the development of a new fitness monitor.
In conclusion, Envoke's expansion into the medical device sector and its success in raising additional funding highlight the growing interest in healthcare technology innovations. While the direct evidence of medical device manufacturers securing dedicated investment for e-learning or remote support systems for medical equipment may be limited, the broader healthcare technology sector continues to attract significant investments.
- The expansion of Envoke into the medical device sector signifies a growing interest in health-and-wellness technology, as they offer e-learning solutions for medical devices, remote support, and an AI-powered diagnosis tool.
- The technology sector plays a crucial role in the medical industry, as investments from Finance Yorkshire and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, among others, are being utilized to support the development of innovative medical devices and e-learning platforms.
- Beyond Envoke, other healthcare technology companies are also receiving investments, such as LeanTaaS, a healthcare software company that employs AI, predictive analytics, and machine learning to optimize hospital operations, and Instructure, which recently launched Canvas Career, a workforce upskilling platform that intersects with healthcare or medical training.