Medical startup Exo receives $40M for handheld ultrasound to speed up imaging emergencies

Medical device startup Exo has closed a new round of funding totaling $40 million for its hand-held, cloud-based ultrasound device, the company announced Thursday.

Redwood City, California-based Exo (pronounced “echo”) said this Series B+ round was led by Fiscus Ventures and Reimagined Ventures (Magnetar Capital affiliates) and Action Potential Venture Capital. TDK Ventures, Solasta Ventures and all existing investors, including Intel Capital and Applied Ventures, also participated.

Including this most recent period, Exo has raised nearly $100 million, the firm said Aug. 20, with its initial Series B funding contributing $35 million last August.

The company plans to use this recent financing to finish product development on its hand-held ultrasound device, which is built based on patented piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducer technology. Exo will also use the money to bring its data and workflow apps to market.

“Emergency room physicians around the world are often tasked with solving some of the most urgent healthcare problems—COVID-19 diagnosis and complications, cardiac emergencies, internal bleeding—without being able to see clearly into a patient they only have minutes to diagnose and treat,” CEO Sandeep Akkaraju said in a statement. “Exo plans to give these critical frontline heroes the device they need—one that immediately opens up a window into everybody and enables them to make speedy, accurate and often lifesaving medical decisions on the spot.”

In May, the California startup introduced former Google and Apple executive Simon Prakash as the firm’s executive vice president of product engineering. Prakash led the development of Google Glass and helped create the first iPhone and iPad, according to Exo.

He was also central to AliveCor’s FDA-cleared electrocardiography device powered by artificial intelligence, serving as chief technical officer of the Mountain View, California, cardiology care company.

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Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.

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