Laza Medical, the latest Shifamed portfolio company, announced that it has closed $36 million in Series A financing.
Laza Medical is developing an imaging solution for cardiac interventions enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) software and state-of-the-art robotics. Led by The Capital Partnership (TCP) with financial participation from GE HealthCare, PA MedTech VC fund, Unorthodox Ventures, and Dara Holdings, funds will be used to accelerate product development and further expand the team. Additionally, the company announced the appointment of seasoned medtech executive, Pablo Garcia, as General Manager.
Garcia joins Laza as General Manager and brings over two decades of medical device development and leadership experience. Previously, he served as the Vice President of Digital Solutions for Johnson & Johnson and was the technical co-founder of Verb Surgical, a strategic venture between Google and Johnson & Johnson to develop a surgical robotics platform. In 2020, this venture was acquired by Johnson & Johnson to be part of their medical robotics portfolio.
Structural heart and electrophysiology are two large and rapidly growing segments of the interventional cardiology market. Ultrasound imaging is necessary to guide these interventional cases, yet lack of resources makes it also a leading factor limiting growth. Laza aims to optimize procedural workflows and elevate the standard of imaging for these procedures. The company's solution is designed to enable imaging and advanced procedure navigation for a broad population of clinicians through a simple user interface.
"Obtaining high quality images of the heart is critical to improving diagnostic confidence and guiding cardiac interventions," said Dagfinn Saetre, General Manager, Cardiovascular Ultrasound, GE HealthCare. "We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this funding round for Laza Medical, who is working to pioneer innovative AI, robotics and ultrasound technology to help overcome some of the most pressing cardiac imaging challenges facing clinicians today."
