Deeptech start-up ImVitro raises $2.5m

ImVitro has raised $2.5m for its B2B SaaS platform which applies computer vision and artificial intelligence to the IVF fertility imaging process. Estimates suggest that about 186 million individuals live with infertility globally. MMC backed ImVitro alongside LDV Capital, Tiny VC, Fly Ventures and Compound VC.

ImVitro’s team is united by the vision to create an easier path to parenthood

Stagnated success rates

Infertility affects millions of people of reproductive age worldwide and thus impacts their families and communities. Estimates suggest that about 186 million individuals live with infertility globally. According to the NHS, 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving. In the United States, 10% to 15% of couples are infertile. As a result, people turn to assisted reproductive technology (ART) or in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Approximately 2.0% of all infants born in the United States every year are conceived using ART.

In the last 10 years, IVF success rates have stagnated. All too often, the embryo transferred first does not lead to a pregnancy and patients have to come back to try getting pregnant with another embryo. IVF is currently an underserved market that is about to boom and therefore clinics are looking to become more productive and robust in their decision-making to work with more patients efficiently and effectively. The IVF fertility sector is in dire need of AI-powered tools to optimize decision-making and to bring transparency to an otherwise complex and opaque journey for patients.

Using AI to tackle infertility

ImVitro developed an operating system that combines the power of cell culture and AI to tackle infertility. As a starting point, the company brings AI-powered automation to the embryo evaluation process which is at the heart of the IVF workflow. EMBRYOLY analyzes videos from microscopes to save clinicians’ time, bring transparency to patients, eliminate human errors and deliver reliable predictions to embryologists at scale. With ImVitro, clinics can also grant access to their patients to a patient portal to deliver simplified lab results.

EMBRYOLY is CE marked and has already benchmarked its performances against 13 embryologists in a retrospective clinical trial.

Alternative solutions focus only on visual information or only take into account the patient’s age while ImVitro analyzes over 30 clinical data points to create a hybrid score that includes the patient’s BMI, uterus receptivity, spermatozoa mobility, and more to improve accuracy and help personalize and standardize results and KPIs.

By taking into account data about the patients and their treatment, EMBRYOLY predicts more accurately the chances an embryo has to lead to a pregnancy and provides more transparent and personalized recommendations.

DR. ALEXANDRA BOUSSOMMIERFOUNDER AND CEO, IMVITRO

We’ve been researching the fertility landscape, and the IVF process has not improved since the first IVF baby over 40 years ago. ImVitro’s team combines deep-tech expertise and entrepreneurship, leveraging computer vision and AI to increase the percentage of successful pregnancies. We are proud to be part of their journey.

CHARLOTTE BARTTELOTPRINCIPAL, MMC VENTURES

The company will use this financing to add key hires across technical and sales teams, expand to the U.S. market, and develop additional features to their software to keep saving clinicians’ time. `

“We are very excited to be entering this new chapter that will consolidate our AI-driven software not only as a tool that minimizes failed IVF treatments, but also one that increases workflow efficiency in the IVF lab and provides a bridge between doctors and patients to add transparency to the complex multi-step process that is IVF,” concluded Dr. Alexandra Boussommier, Founder and CEO of ImVitro.

For more information, see Tech.eu’s article and follow ImVitro on LinkedIn.