Capital Funding for Diagnostic Ultrasound Companies Normalises After 2018 Spike

Capital investment in diagnostic ultrasound companies reached a record breaking $390 million in 2018. This was due to the $250 million Series D funding raised by Butterfly Network and the $73 million pre-turn Series A funding raised by Aisono. This trend did not continue in 2019 and funding returned to pre-2018 levels, with 26 deals worth a combined $136 million.

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The number of deals per year has increased. From 2010 to the end of 2014 there were on average 9 deals per year. From 2015 to the end of 2019 this number almost tripled to 25 deals per year on average. This correlated with the average funding per year nearly tripling from $64 million between 2010 and the end of 2014, to $174 million from 2015 to the end of 2019.

In 2019, companies developing ultrasound for General Imaging accounted for the most funding and collectively raised $39 million – 29% of the total funding that year. However, companies developing ultrasound systems for point-of-care applications accounted for the highest number of deals, with 8 funding deals closed in 2019 – 31% of the total number of deals that year. These deals were typically smaller in value, with an average deal size of $1.8 million.

In 2019, the five largest deals were:

Some of the other key takeaways from our analysis are:

There have been 17 new market entrants since the start of 2015.
Most of the new market entrants are focused on software development, rather than devices. Of the 17 new market entrants since 2015, only seven are developing ultrasound devices.
Of the 7 new market entrants developing devices, six are developing handheld ultrasound devices and the other is developing an ABUS system.
Eight of the ten most funded companies are based in the USA.
There are a number of well-funded companies developing AI solutions for ultrasound. These include Intelligent Ultrasound, Caption Health, Ultromics and DiA Imaging Analysis, to name a few.

Related Market Report

“Ultrasound Equipment – World Market – 2020 edition” provides a data-centric and global outlook on the current and projected uptake of the ultrasound market. This research report quantifies the market for diagnostic ultrasound equipment and forecasts how the market will develop over the next five years. There are dedicated chapters for 8 major clinical markets, with analysis of the product mix, regional variations, competitive landscape, vendor market shares and the trends driving growth. The main report is accompanied by a Powerpoint style executive summary and an Excel file with static and fully customisable (pivot format) tables. Customers also benefit from direct access to the lead Analyst for unparalleled customer support and expert opinions on the market.

About Signify Research

Signify Research is an independent supplier of market intelligence and consultancy to the global healthcare technology industry. Our major coverage areas are Healthcare IT, Medical Imaging and Digital Health. Our clients include technology vendors, healthcare providers and payers, management consultants and investors. Signify Research is headquartered in Cranfield, UK.