Cottonwood Technology Fund invests €1M in Dutch medical chip firm Sencure
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Cottonwood Technology Fund invests €1M in Dutch medical chip firm Sencure

April 29, 2021 – Cottonwood Technology Fund has made a €1 million investment in Dutch medical chip firm Secure. The deal marks the fourth impact investment made by Cottonwood Technology Fund III.

Sencure will develop an ultra-low power biometric sensing chip offering wearable biometric solutions across a wide range of applications for medical technology companies. The comprehensive uses of the technology include easier (remote) patient monitoring and diagnostics for cardiac cases, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), children’s asthma, neurological cases and Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, as well as enabling ICU grade ventilation and monitoring of vital signs. It can be used across multiple products, for monitoring COVID-19 symptoms, enabling better training or rehabilitation for athletes and more generally to monitor stress and activity levels in people’s daily lives.

Sencure’s biometric sensing chip is the result of five years’ effort in designing electronic systems and signal processing algorithms for electrophysiological diagnostic and monitoring systems to deliver medical-grade accuracy. It is set to significantly outperform medical chips from current manufacturers in terms of both price and quality. Competitive advantages include a much lower power consumption and smaller size, allowing for wide-scale market adoption.

Cottonwood Technology Fund’s financing, together with €500,000 from co-investor Lumana Invest, will be used for filing patent applications to protect Sencure’s unique IP, as well as for development and the global rollout of Sencure’s products. This investment allows Cottonwood to support the remote patient monitoring market and reduce healthcare costs on a global scale.

The global medical wearables market alone is projected to reach $19.5 billion by 2025 from $7.4 billion in 2020. This growth is the result of a greater uptake of mobile technologies among both patients and healthcare professionals, an increasing penetration of 4G/5G networks, a larger number of connected devices for chronic disease management, and the growing demand for home care services.

Jurryt Vellinga, CEO and Cofounder, Sencure: “In our search to find an investor that provided both seed funding expertise and a worldwide network of potentials partners and customers, we found Cottonwood right in our backyard. They are the perfect fit for Sencure with their direct way of communicating, and straightforward and reliable people. Together, we make a great team, bringing technology to the market that will change the lives of millions of patients worldwide.”

Alain le Loux, General Partner, Cottonwood Technology Fund: “Cottonwood has known and worked with Sencure’s team members for several years now, and strongly believes in their ability to further develop the company. We contacted all potential customers for Sencure, and were surprised to learn Sencure’s biometric sensing chip is the first in the market to be recognized by customers as ‘best-in-class technology’.’’

Other investments made by Cottonwood Technology Fund III include flexible solar cell company mPower Technology and follow-on investments in BayoTech (hydrogen production) and Infinitum Electric (disrupting the electro motor market).

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About Cottonwood Technology Fund
Cottonwood Technology Fund is, according to Preqin’s latest reporting, a top-decile performing early-stage venture capital fund. Its investment focus is on hard science and deeptech, providing (pre-)seed and early-stage funding to IP-driven companies. Cottonwood makes impact investments in Key Enabling Technologies, like Photonics/ Optics, Micro- & Nanoelectronics, Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology, Medical Technology, Cleantech/ Energy Transition, Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics. Cottonwood recently launched its third fund focused on business originating across Southwestern America and Northwestern Europe, including numerous national laboratories, major research universities and research centers. Current and prior investments include Skorpios Technologies, FibeRio (acquired by Clarcor), xF Technologies, Eurekite, Sarcos Robotics (NASDAQ STRC), BayoTech, Respira Therapeutics, Infinitum Electric, Trilumina (acquired by Lumentum), SoundEnergy, OPNT and Exagen (NASDAQ XGN). For more information, please visit www.cottonwood.vc.

About Sencure
Sencure is an engineering and design company focused on medical devices for monitoring and diagnostic purposes, and wearable biometric sensor technology. Sencure has developed an extensive library of signal processing algorithms that can be implemented in medical devices on an IP license basis. Sencure develops the next generation of textile integrated medical wearables that enable customers to provide patients with the highest level of comfort during monitoring and measurement in real life situations. For more information, please visit www.sencure.com.

Sencure
We are gladly having Cottonwood Technology Fund on board as lead investor. They are very supportive on aligning strategy and execution. The first year they ...
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Jurryt Vellinga, CEO
Sencure BV
We are gladly having Cottonwood Technology Fund on board as lead investor. They are very supportive on aligning strategy and execution. The first year they brought in already 8 corporates as potential customer. We are surprised every time about their extensive entrepreneurial mindset, business experience and global network of Cottonwood. They have been very smart people and 24/7 supportive.
Sencure
Jurryt Vellinga, CEO
Sencure BV
BayoTech
We would not exist, or certainly not in New Mexico, if it were not for Cottonwood. Until Cottonwood got involved we struggled to get attention ...
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Justin Eisenbach, President and CEO
Bayotech Corp
We would not exist, or certainly not in New Mexico, if it were not for Cottonwood. Until Cottonwood got involved we struggled to get attention from other capital providers. Cottonwood has been a real catalyst, beyond their money, to upgrading our management team, opening doors to potential strategic investors and customers and focusing on our market entry strategy. Cottonwood has been a great partner in driving our success in every area. I truly believe they wake up every day looking for ways and ideas that can support our success.
BayoTech
Justin Eisenbach, President and CEO
Bayotech Corp
Skorpios Technologies, Inc.
Cottonwood began working with me a year before they closed their first fund. Even though they weren’t initially in a position to invest they...
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Steve Krasulick, President & CEO
Skorpios Technologies
Cottonwood began working with me a year before they closed their first fund. Even though they weren’t initially in a position to invest they still opened doors to potential investors and customers, and assisted with the fund raising strategy and execution plan. Once their fund was closed they took an aggressive lead role in pulling together our first round and helping us launch the company. Now after having raised almost $150M they continue to support our growth, provide valuable advice and open doors to additional resources as we need them. We have been fortunate to have Cottonwood as a partner in building our company.
Skorpios Technologies, Inc.
Steve Krasulick, President & CEO
Skorpios Technologies