Düsseldorf-based Skleo Well being, a HealthTech firm on a mission to get rid of preventable blindness, has raised €3 million in a Seed funding spherical to scale its community of accessible, medically-validated eye screenings nationwide.
The funding was led by Sanoptis, a number one European ophthalmology companies supplier, alongside Antler and quite a lot of excessive profile angel traders.
Dr Steffen E. Künzel, Co-founder of Skleo Well being, feedback: “Every single day within the clinic, I witnessed the profound influence of late-stage analysis, the place therapy choices are sometimes restricted and the outcomes are unsure. We based Skleo Well being to basically change this actuality. By bringing licensed, medically-validated screenings into on a regular basis life, we’re changing reactive therapy with proactive prevention. This funding permits us to construct a brand new customary of care the place early detection is the norm, not the exception, guaranteeing we are able to save the sight of thousands and thousands.”
Based in 2024, Skleo Well being’s platform empowers companions corresponding to opticians, pharmacies, retail shops, and firms to supply accessible and quick eye screenings that mix superior AI evaluation with medical validation by licensed ophthalmologists.
The Founders met throughout a founder residency run by Antler in Berlin in 2023. The workforce combines medical and enterprise experience: Dr Steffen E. Künzel is an ophthalmologist and researcher, previously with Charité College Hospital. Fabien Vogl is an engineer with an MBA and a background in healthcare and digitisation at Air Liquide. Dr Alex Hein is a mathematician and economist, previously a marketing consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Past screening, Skleo’s platform connects people straight with specialist care, enabling a seamless affected person journey from early detection to therapy. This ensures early detection, simplifies entry to therapy, and improves outcomes for sufferers. On the identical time, it permits medical professionals to give attention to delivering care whereas enhancing effectivity throughout the healthcare system.
Skleo Well being is making preventive eye screenings obtainable in on a regular basis areas corresponding to opticians, pharmacies, retail, and firm places of work. Skleo Well being’s service consists of a fast, six-minute eye screening at a handy companion location. The outcomes are then processed within the background by means of a two-step evaluation: first by an CE-certified AI, adopted by medical validation from a specialist eye physician to make sure the very best stage of high quality and accuracy.
Dr Volker Wendel, Founder and CEO of Sanoptis, feedback, “At Sanoptis, our mission is to make wonderful eye care accessible to everybody – and we see Skleo Well being as a key driver in remodeling how preventive care is delivered throughout Europe. Skleo’s strategy, which mixes medical experience with cutting-edge AI and an simply accessible screening infrastructure, is shaping the way forward for eye care.
“By figuring out illnesses earlier and being nearer to the affected person, they’re tackling one of many greatest challenges in ophthalmology in the present day: late analysis. We’re proud to convey our scientific community and experience to this partnership, and assured that Skleo’s mannequin represents a brand new period in proactive, patient-centered eye care.”
As per knowledge supplied by Skelo Well being – in Germany alone, 9.7 million individuals endure from preventable eye situations corresponding to glaucoma, diabetic eye illness, age-related macular degeneration and different widespread illnesses. But the typical ready time for specialist appointments is 56 days and knowledge exhibits that 31% of sufferers are handled too late to have the ability to forestall these illnesses.
Skleo Well being’s strategy, which is supported by notable figures from Charité College Clinic Berlin, UCL London, and Yale College, seems to permit individuals to profit from early detection, ensures medical doctors can prioritise therapy and reduces the burden on healthcare companies by making preventive care extra accessible, environment friendly and cost-effective.
Skleo Well being has expanded its operations to Germany’s 50 largest cities, already screening over 11,000 individuals and figuring out over 3,000 circumstances with medically related findings.
The funding will gas the growth of Skleo Well being’s companion community with the objective of reaching a capability of 30,000 screenings per 30 days. In parallel, the corporate will construct its open, nationwide platform to attach sufferers with specialist eye medical doctors.
The strategic partnership with lead investor Sanoptis permits Skleo to rapidly scale its platform, guaranteeing sufferers dependable entry to high-quality therapy. A portion of the funding can be devoted to advancing Skleo’s proprietary AI diagnostic platform.
Alan Poensgen, Associate at Antler, feedback, “Skleo Well being will radically enhance eyecare in Germany and throughout Europe. The precision and velocity with which Skleo Well being has constructed an providing that addresses the precise issues dealing with sufferers and medical doctors solely comes from firsthand expertise.
“The founding workforce combines the medical experience of Steffen with the technical and enterprise expertise of Fabien and Alex. They know their market, they’ve constructed an answer and they’re now executing and scaling to ship their imaginative and prescient. It’s been a pleasure working with the Founders from day zero and I’ve each confidence of their future success.”