Korean startup Mediintech which develops smart endoscopes for the digestive system announced that it had attracted 8 billion won (about $6.6 million) in Series A round investment from Atinum Investment, Smilegate Investment, and Future Play.
Mediintech Co., Ltd. is a startup founded in 2020 by CEO Chiwon Lee and Vice President Myeongjun Kim, who have been conducting research based on endoscope-related technology at the Korea Electrotechnical Research Institute, a government-funded research institute. The co-founders of Mediintech developed a ‘next-generation medical endoscope system’ by adding the medical examination endoscope technology of the Korea Electro-Mechanics Research Institute based on the original technology for the electrification of surgical robots developed together at the graduate school of Seoul National University.
Startup’s innovation to substitute imports
Mediintech’s technological prowess for this investment round was highly evaluated, including being selected as the lead institution for a national project worth 9.5 billion won in the 2021 cross-ministerial medical device R&D project. The cross-ministerial medical device R&D project is by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Information and Communication, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It is a national project designed to lead the future medical environment in the 4th industrial revolution in South Korea.
Through this investment attraction, Mediintech is planning to complete the approval of domestic flexible endoscope medical devices within this year, which has a clear import substitution effect in the domestic endoscopy market, which has been 100% dependent on foreign products. In addition, the startup plans to advance various convenient software technologies such as artificial intelligence, automatic lesion detection algorithm, etc. Chiwon Lee, CEO of Mediintech Co., Ltd. said, “Compared to the world’s highest level of domestic gastrointestinal endoscopy, more than 90% of endoscopes used are made in Japan. We will lead the world in technology,” he said.
Jaewoong Choi, Director of Future Play, said, “Based on the solid history of the founding team, Mediintech has completed preparations for commercialization within a very short period after founding and is expected to receive KFDA certification this year. We made follow-up investments in anticipation of developing into a medical robot company based on technology.”
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