APEX Ventures has announced it is marketing its second fund and actively seeking digital health startups for investment. 

The fund will be headed by partner Dr Gordon Euller, a radiologist who has previously worked at Medical University Vienna (AKH Wein), as well as at McKinsey & Company in London.  

APEX Ventures also plans to issue a call, along with the Herman Hauser Investment Group, for the best European startups in the strategic areas of in-silico trials and artificial intelligence (AI) supported healthcare data marketplaces.

WHAT IT DOES

The early stage investor, founded in 2017, focuses on Seed in marketplaces, fintech, SaaS, digital media, e-commerce and digital health companies. It has operations in Austria, Germany, Israel and Silicon Valley. 

According to a press release, the investment team brings more than 80 years of medical, entrepreneurial and investment experience, plus actively works with portfolio companies to steward their growth through the various stages of development.  

The announcement follows a successful few weeks for the investor, which saw an exit for portfolio company Lendflow and the completion of four new investments in the areas of digital pathology, radiology and neurology.  

WHAT IT’S FOR

The Fund's European network will assist seed stage deep-tech companies with defendable intellectual property (IP).  APEX Ventures invests in talented teams who are committed to improving patient outcomes and lives. 

To date, most of APEX Ventures’ investments have been made in the DACH region, through its Austrian base.  With APEX Digital Health, the focus area will expand from DACH-based companies, to those based in the rest of Europe, Israel and the US.  

MARKET SNAPSHOT 

Meanwhile, the University College London (UCL) Technology Fund recently announced first close of a £100 million target Fund 2, which aims to bring UCL’s academic research in life, computer and physical sciences to commercial reality.

ON THE RECORD 

Dr Euller said: "COVID-19 demonstrates to us worldwide how vulnerable our medical systems and processes are, particularly regarding capacity. These issues can only be solved by new innovative technologies as well as generous and wise investments in this asset category." 

Venture partner Kelly Klein, who recently joined the Fund to head up the firm's activities in Israel, said: “Digital health is really prospering in Israel and one way this is done is by leveraging its medical data; Israel has 25 years of data and 90% of this is digitalised. 

“One of the most important things once an Israeli startup gets funding is to internationalise it, and APEX can help to expand in the US, Europe and Asia."