Amsterdam-based Confocal.nl secures €5M to develop advanced microscopes

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Amsterdam-based Confocal.nl, a microscope manufacturer, announced on Thursday that it has secured €5M from a consortium of investors, including ROM InWest and Nascent Ventures. 

With this funding, ROM InWest and Nascent Ventures join the Rabobank Startup & Scale-up team, RVO Innovatiekrediet, and other existing investors and partners. These include VCC TechNanoFund, ECFG, University of Amsterdam Ventures and Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland.

The funding will help the company to make microscopes more accessible worldwide, enabling scientists to achieve breakthroughs faster in developing effective medicines and innovative agricultural crops.

Pim Vos, CEO of Confocal.nl, says, “We are going to make our technology more accessible to both the scientific and industrial research world. In addition, we are also investing in our marketing and sales, especially in Europe and the United States,”

Confocal.nl: Helping scientists achieve breakthroughs more quickly

Confocal.nl was founded in 2016 as a spin-off from the University of Amsterdam.

The company develops and produces advanced microscopes that enable scientists to study living cells much more efficiently. It is called ‘Live cell imaging.

Pim Vos, CEO of Confocal.nl, explains, “We are on the eve of major breakthroughs in the medical world, which means that more manpower is needed to work with confocal microscopy. Our technology can make a big difference because it makes this complicated technology more suitable and accessible to a wider group of scientists.”

The microscopes use minimal laser light at a very high resolution. This prevents cells from behaving differently, fading or dying faster, allowing processes in living cells to be studied longer and more accurately.

“Traditional microscopes use intensive laser light, which causes cells to behave differently, fade or die faster. As a result, living cells can only be studied to a limited extent. Our technology prevents this and offers scientists the opportunity to study processes in living cells for longer and more accurately, and results become more reproducible. This is crucial for research into new medicines and treatments for complex diseases,” adds Vos

Currently, the total team consists of 20 people, working both remotely and from the company location at the Amsterdam Science Park.

The investor

ROM InWest is North Holland’s regional development company. The team supports entrepreneurs who contribute to the food transition, energy transition, care transition, circular economy, and/or a robust, sustainable, and social North Holland economy with their innovations.

In addition to offering assistance in finding external financiers, ROM InWest also invests in companies from its funds. ROM InWest works closely with parties to offer knowledge and networks.

Janet Nieboer, CEO of ROM InWest says, “Live cell imaging is a promising technology in the fight against diseases such as cancer. Confocal.nl makes this technology widely accessible, which not only contributes to effective treatment methods but also to lower healthcare costs.”

Nascent Ventures is an active seed fund that realises deeptech startups based on breakthrough technologies from Dutch research institutes and universities. 

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Vigneshwar Ravichandran

Vigneshwar has been a News Reporter at Silicon Canals since 2018. A seasoned technology journalist with almost a decade of experience, he covers the European startup ecosystem, from AI and Web3 to clean energy and health tech. Previously, he was a content producer and consumer product reviewer for leading Indian digital media, including NDTV, GizBot, and FoneArena. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Instrumentation in Chennai and a Diploma in Broadcasting Journalism in New Delhi.

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