Italian Angels for Growth, the leading Network-Powered Venture Capital investor in Italy, announces participation in a SAFE round of investment of $2,270,000 in Votis.
Votis, founded in 2017 in Jerusalem, is a company that works primarily in critical lower limb ischemia, the most advanced stage of arteriopathy. Votis’ specialty is the identification and stratification of diabetic foot syndrome. Indeed, more than 200 million people worldwide currently suffer from lower limb arteriopathy, and in Italy alone, between 7 and 8 thousand diabetic patients are forced to undergo foot amputation each year due to complications of this condition.
IAG business angels therefore decided to believe in the potential of Votis, during an investment round that led the Israeli startup to raise $2,270,000. Just last year, an IAG delegation undertook a week of professional meetings to promote its activities and intensify relations with key Silicon Wadi players. An opportunity for that will speed up the dissemination of innovative solutions, as also demonstrated by the investment in Votis.
Claudio Zuccolotto, Board Member in the company, together with Luca Casalena and Marco Colombetti, Champion IAG in this investment, explain: "This is not the first time that, as business angels, we are interested in innovative projects in the health field. The investment in Votis responds to two needs: the first is to finance an idea that we think is winning, and the second is to give support to the development of new technologies that go to improve the lives of millions of people. Looking at Italy alone, for example, there are more than 3.5 million diabetics. This project could really be a breakthrough for all these people and for the national health care system."
The tool devised by Votis, in fact, is revolutionary: although it leads to serious complications such as amputation, lower limb arteriopathy is often not diagnosed in time to propose alternative therapeutic solutions. Votis PedCheck™, on the other hand, can identify for each area of the foot (referred to as angiosomes), changes in blood volume, perfusion, and oxygenation, using new technology and proprietary algorithms from Votis to take a deep look at the foot. This enables early treatment, improved wound healing and prevention of amputation, as well as reduced healthcare costs.
In addition, Votis PedCheck™ is a portable and inexpensive device. Disposable connectors attached to the foot secure photodetector sensors that automatically measure light scattering and absorption, connecting to a small, lightweight unit that transmits information digitally via a cloud. The resulting data is automatically converted into a score called the HOVR™ Index, short for Hemodynamic Occlusive Vascular Response, to determine the severity of the situation.
Merrill Weber, Co-Founder and CEO of VOTIS: "We are very proud to have good investors like IAG business angels by our side. Our goal is to develop this device more and more, strengthening our collaboration with Europe."