- Ligence, a Lithuanian health tech startup, has secured €3 million seed funding led by Polish Simpact Ventures to advance its AI-powered cardiac diagnostics technology.
- The company’s AI-based software aids cardiologists by automating heart ultrasound analysis, improving diagnostic speed and accuracy.
- Ligence is expanding across Europe and conducting clinical trials in the U.S. to further validate its technology’s effectiveness in healthcare.
The world’s biggest killer
Cardiac diagnostics startup Ligence has announced the successful completion of an early stage seed investment round with Simpact Ventures, a Polish venture capital investment fund focused on social impact technologies, as lead investor. Partners such as Coinvest Capital, European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Estonian venture capital firm Lemonade Stand, business angels syndicate NGL and Rita Sakus participated in the investment round.
Ligence develops software for cardiac echocardiography that uses artificial intelligence to automate image analysis, assisting cardiologists in making precise clinical decisions.
“The investors’ confidence once again shows that the company’s strategic direction is the right one: the world’s biggest killer – cardiovascular disease – and one of the key tests to diagnose it, cardiac ultrasound, deserve more attention,” says Ligence CEO Arnas Karužas.
“With an aging population, a growing number of comorbidities, and a number of risk factors that we are still fighting, accurate and rapid diagnosis of heart disease is more important than ever.”
Ligence software is already in use by customers in Lithuania and across other European countries, including Poland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and is currently being tested in Morocco. Clinical trials are underway in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Lithuania.
Beyond just business potential
Ligence’s social mission is to increase the availability and accuracy of cardiac ultrasound for patients to enable earlier diagnosis, better risk assessment and patient screening. For doctors, this helps to reduce manual workload, and leave more time to interact with patients. The company puts its resources first in this social mission.
“Impact investing is an investment strategy that seeks to generate not only a financial return but also a measurable benefit for society or the environment,” explains Wojciech Majewski, a partner at Simpact Ventures. “Ligence aims to improve the availability and accuracy of heart disease diagnostics, reducing clinical workload and allowing doctors to spend more time with patients.”
“For us, one of the most exciting aspects of investing is supporting not only the business potential but also the purpose and mission of the team. Ligence has already won the ‘Startup Fair. Pulse 2024’ award at the largest startup event in the Baltics, demonstrating that the investment community recognizes both the team’s potential and the positive impact of their product on society,” says Viktorija Trimbel, Director of Coinvest Capital.
Justinas Pašys, Founder and CEO at NGL, says: “Our syndicate of 53 angels has decided to back Ligence after engaging with the team since 2020 and witnessing their ability to develop a world-class product. With strong traction, strategic partnerships, and ongoing clinical trials at top US hospitals, Ligence is well-positioned for significant growth. We believe the startup’s solution will enable faster and more accurate heart disease diagnoses, improving patient outcomes and increasing the efficiency of healthcare systems.”
With integration capabilities that align with PACS and hospital IT infrastructure, Ligence adheres to ASE and ESC guidelines for transparent, standardized diagnostics. Their mission is to elevate patient care by reducing clinician workload, saving time, and improving outcomes in the fight against heart disease.
