Belgium-based Sunrise bags €17M to help people suffering from sleep disorders

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Belgium-based Sunrise, a healthtech company that claims to be revolutionising sleep analysis, announced on Thursday, March 9, that it has raised €17M in a fresh round of funding. This funding is in addition to €12M that the startup has already raised since its inception.

The startup plans to accelerate its growth in commercialising its technology in the US and recruiting new talent. Sunrise wants to increase the number of teams it has by 10 over the next five years.

Laurent Martinot, co-founder of Sunrise, says, “This latest fundraising operation, together with our accreditation, confirms our ambition to improve access to treatment for the 1 billion people worldwide who suffer from sleep apnoea.”

“Studies show that the vast majority of these people are unaware of this disease. Sleep apnoea is probably one of the most common and under-diagnosed chronic diseases in the world,” adds Martinot.

Investors in this round

The current round was led by Kurma Partners, and saw the entry of the European Innovation Council (EIC Fund), the European Commission’s renowned deeptech initiative.

Existing investors Namur Invest and VIVES Inter-University Fund (VIVES IUF), new investors Sambrinvest, IMBC, InvestBW, and Sofinex also participated in this round.

Philippe Peltier, Partner at Kurma Partners, says, “Sunrise’s solutions will change the lives of millions of people around the world who suffer from sleep disorders today. Their world-class clinical performance technology is the first to provide patients with a simple, accessible and uniquely accurate sleep analysis solution.”

Bio-signal to diagnose sleep apnea

Founded in 2015 by Laurent Martinot and Pierre Martinot, Sunrise believes everyone should have a sleep test at least once in their lives. That’s why the startup is reimagining sleep apnoea detection. 

With just one monitor put on the chin, Sunrise’s AI-powered technology analyses a new signal on the human body, jaw movements, and other typical apnoea signs. 

“We have developed a 3-gram sensor to diagnose sleep with gold standard quality. The technology offers a revolutionary new way to measure brain commands at night, with unprecedented clinical results, at a fraction of the cost,” says the company.

Sunrise detects respiratory events based on the analysis of the trigeminal drive. This new technology measures movement caused by the contraction of respiratory muscles and provides reliable and accurate information to analyse sleep.

Sunrise has already reached a major milestone in its global development with the FDA’s acceptance of its second-generation technology in America and the European Union’s recent Medical Device Regulation (MDR) clearance of its second-generation technology.

The startup claims to have grown significantly in recent months. The Sunrise team consists of 30 people and has around 20 vacancies in Belgium, France and the US. It intends to grow further in the coming months.

About the investors

Kurma Partners invests in healthcare and biotechnology across Europe. The VC aims to contribute to innovative solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with serious diseases where there is an unmet medical need.

Currently, Kurma Partners has €470M in assets under management, with two dedicated franchises, Kurma Biofund focused on therapeutic (current active fund KBIII) and Kurma Diagnostics focused on diagnostic and digital health (current active fund Kurma Dx2).

The European Commission’s European Innovation Council Fund is an agnostic fund. It offers combined funding for the EIC Accelerator’s investment component. The Fund’s aim is to support companies in the development and commercialisation of disruptive technologies. 

The EIC Fund also places a strong focus on the goal to close the innovation gap between EU nations as well as empower and support female entrepreneurs.

VIVES IUF was established in 2020 at the request of the UCLouvain. It helps businesses in various stages of growth and invests in initiatives that have a positive effect on society. 

VIVES IUF depends on a network of multi-sectoral specialists through its partnerships to support the development of high-quality innovations.

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Vishal Singh

Vishal Singh is a News Reporter and Social Media Marketing Lead at Silicon Canals. He covers developments in the European startup ecosystem and oversees the publication's social media presence. Before joining Silicon Canals, Vishal gained experience at the Indian digital media outlet Inc42, contributing to its growth with insightful content. Despite being a college dropout, his passion for writing has driven his career in journalism.

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