ECFG acquired a minority stake in Confocal.nl through its Eindhoven Venture Capital Fund II (EVCF II).

About Confocal.nl
Confocal.nl has developed add-on modules for ‘ordinary’ fluorescence microscopes, turning them into a super-resolution confocal microscope for deep 3D-imaging. The company developed this improved live cell imaging technology into two product applications: a super-resolution re-scan microscope that scans using a single laser point, and a so-called line scanner that scans samples using a line of laser light. Both products uniquely achieve high-end results using very low laser power, offering differentiative solutions in reducing phototoxicity, less cell death or deterioration and less bleaching.

Confocal.nl’s current products are being sold over the globe and are particularly bought by imaging facilities and research institutions. They are hand-operated by microscopists in an increasingly broad range of assays (e.g. organoid models) and research purposes (e.g. drug or agriculture research). Confocal.nl aims at making confocal microscopy accessible to a broader group of scientists.

Investment objective
In the past years Confocal.nl successfully developed new products and achieved international growth. ECFG’s investment enables Confocal.nl to move to the next phase: to continue moving the mark with technology development and to further open the market for live cell imaging within biotech and pharma industry R&D labs. This market has a strong need for automated systems that can analyse large volumes of samples over longer periods of time; ready-to-use tabletop systems that are also easy to operate for non-microscopists, improving reproducibility and predictability of research results and potentially shortening e.g. the drug discovery cycle.

New Partnership and continued Partnerships
“We see a fast-growing need for accessible super-resolution confocal imaging equipment, especially in life sciences. Confocal.nl’s technology provides improved reproducible research outcomes, hence the increasing interest from academia and industry. ECFG as investment partner, on top of our existing partners (TechNanoFund, University of Amsterdam Ventures and Noord-Holland Invest), will enable us to fulfil this need, not only in distributing our current portfolio products, but also by further developing accessible and state-of-art technology” says Pim Vos, MSc, CEO of Confocal.nl.

Dr.ir Stefan Lampaert, CTO of the company, explains: “The core invention is the most important part, and we have that well protected. The task of my engineering team is to successfully roll-out our roadmap for further tech improvement and integration. We will continue to work with public and non-public parties to develop game-changing technologies and products.”

Ruben Baijens, MSc, Investment director and partner ECFG: “In Confocal.nl we see a solid and healthy collaboration partner that operates in an attractive and fast-growing market segment. With our investment, the experienced management team of Confocal.nl will be able to accelerate the introduction in new segments and realise its ambitions.”