Irish venture capital firm Kernel Capital has launched a €10m seed fund that will focus exclusively on the indigenous medical technology sector.
The Bank of Ireland MedTech Accelerator Fund will invest from €100,000 to €500,000 in export orientated high potential start-up life sciences companies operating in the medical device, diagnostics or medical/laboratory sectors.
The investment vehicle will operate in parellel with the ICT focused Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund, which is also managed by Kernel Capital as well as with the Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund that typically invests in the €2m to €5m range in later stage projects.
Investors in the new fund include Bank of Ireland (€5m) and NUI Galway (€1m). These resources will be added to the existing Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Fund, whose size now has increased to €32m. It has now allocated €10m for early stage MedTech investments and the remaining €22m for early stage ICT investments.
As stated by Dr. James J. Browne, President of National University of Ireland Galway, the new vehicle will enable new companies to gain access to the seed funding necessary to bring their innovations to the product development stage.
FinSMEs
04/02/2011