Flux Robotics is getting closer and closer to fulfilling its promise: saving lives, particularly by enabling new treatment options for patients with complex and completely blocked blood vessels. The startup is able to accelerate its growth thanks to investments from NextGen Ventures and Future Tech Ventures, among others, and indirectly from the Groningen Investment Fund (IFG).
He calls it a huge success—the animal trial that was recently completed. Christoff Heunis, founder of Flux Robotics, talks from his native South Africa about the major strides his company is making. “Expect it to take two years; by then, our system should be up and running in hospitals—exactly ten years after Flux Robotics was founded. That would be pretty fast.”
Breakthrough in Complex Vascular Treatments
Flux Robotics has developed a technology to guide a thin “wire” through blood vessels, for example, to detect or treat blockages. While surgeons are still accustomed to doing this by hand, the robot can do it more efficiently, more accurately, and more safely. Thanks to magnetically guided navigation, the wire is controlled and steered steadily through the blood vessel. Especially in cases of completely blocked blood vessels—so-called chronic total occlusions—interventions often get stuck or are technically very difficult to perform. It is precisely in these complex cases that Flux Robotics’ technology can open up new treatment options. This drastically reduces the risk of damage to the blood vessel.
Heunis got his start at the University of Twente, but has had strong ties to Groningen from the very beginning—actually, even before that. “After my doctoral research, the University of Twente, together with the UMCG, secured a grant that allowed us to build a laboratory in Groningen to test the technology. We’re still doing that today. We develop the technology in the east, and we conduct clinical trials in Groningen, where we also have a space in the Innolab.”
Flux Robotics has since expanded its reach. Pilot projects are underway in Miami, and in South Africa, Heunis is working to set up a similar initiative. “Exactly here, yes. For me, that’s the underlying philosophy of the company: I want to help people in places around the world where that’s still difficult to do. It all started when the mother of a friend of mine had a stroke in South Africa. It turned out there were only three neurosurgeons on the entire continent who could help her. That’s when I decided: things have to change.”
Reaching maturity requires not only time but also money. Grants help significantly (Flux Robotics is part of a European Interreg project with a total budget of 2.8 million euros), but investors are also absolutely essential. Heunis: “That’s a big part of my job. Actually, I’m constantly working on raising funds, pitching our idea, and showing that our vision and progress go hand in hand.”
I want to help people in parts of the world where that’s still difficult to do.
Christoff Heunis Founder of Flux Robotics
Investing in Impact and the Long Term
NextGen Ventures has been following the startup for years. The Ede-based fund invests in startups focused on digital healthcare and medical technology. “For us, it’s all about impact. It has to make healthcare better or more affordable,” explains investment manager Roel Dekkers. And Flux Robotics has the potential to deliver on that promise.
NextGen Ventures joined forces with Future Tech Ventures, which prefers to focus on this very early stage of startups. Investment manager Hilbrand van der Zee: “Flux Robotics is a perfect fit for us: healthcare of the future, scalable technology, and great potential to be groundbreaking. This is simply a source of pride for the North.”
Van der Zee also recognizes that the company still has a way to go. “With medtech, it’s always a long road. You have to deal with strict regulations and challenging validation processes. And then the surgeons still have to embrace the technology. But we believe that will happen. The partnership with NextGen Ventures is a great step toward the future, which will require even more investment.”
NextGen Ventures will remain involved with the startup over the long term, says Roel Dekkers. “To be completely honest? We were actually waiting for the right moment to get on board. That’s how much faith we have in the technology and the team. Together with Future Tech Ventures, we were able to make it happen. I think that together we cover a larger portion of the demand. Future Tech Ventures focuses on the very early stage, while we target the period right after that. Together, we’re like a little train.”
The joint investment demonstrates why the IFG recently decided to invest in NextGen Ventures’ new fund. It had already done so in a previous NextGen Ventures fund. It has also invested in Future Tech Ventures. Investment manager Anton Kramer: “It’s all about the leverage effect. The medical sector is important to us, and larger funds like NextGen Ventures have already proven that they’re paying close attention to Groningen. More local medtech companies have already received investments. Partnering with these funds is an excellent way for us to help advance the sector here. Because that’s what matters most to us.’
Networking, attending social events, talking to lots of people. That’s how valuable connections are made. It’s no different here. Christoff Heunis keeps doing it. “That’s how I first came into contact with Nextgen Ventures and Future Tech Ventures quite a while ago. I really enjoy doing it—it doesn’t feel like a job to me. What we do is what drives me. I’m part of something bigger.”