French start-up secures €10m to optimise prenatal diagnosis

The French software development company Sonio has raised a €10m fundraising through the European Innovation Council Accelerator.

By using medical history, genetic and biological data and ultrasound semiology, Sonio aims to empower practitioners to secure prenatal screening and optimise prenatal diagnosis. 

The founders say the start-up combines AI, software development and ultrasound imaging to address the 50 per cent of congenital malformations that are not detected before birth and improve access and quality of care for pregnant women and children.

The fundraising, €2.5m in grant and €7.5m in equity investment, will support the company to “gain momentum” on the US market and increase sales in Europe and India.

“Receiving such a significant funding from one of the most competitive accelerators in the world is a testament to the innovation Sonio brings to foetal medicine” said Cécile Brosset, co-counder and CEO of Sonio.

“Our hard work has been fruitful. I am now more confident than ever that we can help secure pregnancy care worldwide with collective and artificial intelligence.”

Rémi Besson, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Sonio, said: “For us this funding means more research, more clinical studies, more innovation, more patents filed in Europe and ultimately an improved quality of care for patients, wherever they are.

“We are eager to intensify our scientific partnerships with some of the best experts in foetal medicine and Artificial Intelligence.”

Sonio’s team has brought two products to market since its launch, including Sonio Diagnostics, designed for diagnostic ultrasounds and Sonio Pro, aimed at bringing more efficiency to routine pregnancy ultrasounds.

Several partnerships have already been signed with Samsung France and specialised distributors such as Lifecell in India, Manager Systems in Brazil and Dynamic Medicals in Nigeria.

Dagmar Nuber, chief business officer and co-founder at Sonio, added: “This funding will allow us to accelerate our commercial development in the USA and in Europe, thanks to faster innovation and better market access.

“We will also be able to initiate more distribution partnerships in countries where access to healthcare is scarce, thus helping us to fulfil our mission, which is to improve access and quality of care of women and children.”

The EIC Accelerator supports individual small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular start-ups and spinout companies to develop and scale-up innovations.

The financing comes in addition to the €5m previously raised by Sonio with Elaia, OneRagtime and Bpi France in June 2022.