Exo (pronounced echo) raised $220 million in Series C financing to commercialize its handheld ultrasound device.The round was led RA Capital Management. BlackRock, Sands Capital and Avidity Partners joined the group, as well as Pura Vida Investors, Pura Vida Investments, Pura Vida Investments, Pura Via Investments, and other prior investors.Exo CEO Sandeep Akkaraju stated that the new funding will bring the total investments in Redwood City, California, to over $320million since 2015. This includes a $40 Million investment in 2020.Ultrasound machines cost between $40,000 and $250,000 for low-end technology, and can run into the millions for higher-end equipment. The Exos device will cost about the same as a laptop.We know that ultrasound is the future. It is nonradiating, and does not have any harmful side effects. Akkaraju stated. We want to bring the technology into the hands of doctors. It is also our goal to make it accessible to patients. This is the beauty of this window into your body. You can see everything right away.The device uses a combination artificial intelligence, medical imagery, and silicon technology. It can be used in real-world medical settings such as evaluating patients with cardiology or scanning the lungs of COVID-19 patients. Patients can use it at home to get real-time information after a surgery or monitor a condition.Exo adds Exo Works, a workflow platform that streamlines exam review and documentation, as well as billing, to its Exo Works product. It takes just a minute for Exo Works to be fully operational.Akkaraju stated that the company's immediate focus is to commercialize the device. This is where the majority of the funding will be spent. Akkaraju plans to expand the informatics platform, which is currently being piloted in the country, and to increase both its production and sales force.Global point-of-care ultrasound sales are expected to grow at 5% per year by 2025, reaching $3.1 billion. Akkaraju has heard from other hospital workers, that they too want the ultrasound device to aid in their daily tasks, such as finding the right vein to insert an IV.Exo will continue to develop its handheld ultrasound device once the device has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Zach Scheiner, principal at RA Capital Management, stated that he met the Exo team and that RA made its first investment later in the year in Series B Extension.The technology and the possibility to scale was what attracted Scheiner immediately. Scheiner got to know Akkaraju and saw the progress of Exos technology over the months.As healthcare technology improves and costs fall, we are seeing more opportunities in this area of healthcare technology, he said. Sandeep's vision of making ultrasound accessible to all is not possible today. While we are still seeing the market at an early stage, we recognize its potential. Every doctor should be able to see things that they weren't able to before. This sector will grow as technology and biology improve.
