Romanian MedTech startup XVision gets bridge round investment from ROCA X to fuel CEE expansion

XVision, the Romanian MedTech startup behind the software solution that helps radiologists analyze X-Rays and CT scans using AI, announced the opening of a new fundraising round to fuel its CEE expansion. ROCA X, part of Impetum Group and one of the early investors in the company, said it follows up through a bridge round meant to provide the company with more flexibility in structuring its future round.

“When a project develops fast, the reaction speed of those involved in it becomes the decisive factor in its development, and it is the duty of the investors to be prepared to react as fast as needed to maintain the growth pace. Through ROCA X, we want to provide founders with the flexibility they need to scale their businesses, without having their company’s growth threatened by long fundraising periods,” said Alexandru Bogdan, ROCA X CEO.

In the last year, XVision has implemented their automatic X-Ray analysis solution in over 30 public and private hospitals across Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland and are now processing over 70% of the medical images that go through these medical institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the accelerated growth of medical units using the XVision digital solution.

“As doctors’ time becomes increasingly precious, they rely more and more on digital solutions. Using XVision’s algorithms, medical institutions have managed to analyze more images faster, as XVision is also able to detect, among other thoracic pathologies found on X-Rays and CT scans, signs of SARS-CoV2 infection,” according to a press release.

Stefan Iarca, co-founder and CEO XVision, said: “The problem we want to solve with XVision, that of the radiologists’ heavy workload, has been existing long before the pandemic. COVID-19 further exacerbated it, and we realized that we needed to move faster than we’ve anticipated. Consequently, we focused on deploying XVision in as many hospitals as possible in Romania to validate that our product provides real value to doctors. The international expansion followed naturally to the point where we are already present in hospitals across the CEE. ROCA X investment is essential for us because it allows us to meet the demand we have in these foreign markets, and it is also a step forward towards raising a more complex round.”

In the long run, XVision’s mission is to become a leading platform for medical deep-tech solutions compatible with any other solution used in medical imaging. In the near future, the company’s objective is to extend its operations in the CEE.

According to ROCA X, Europe is the region with the fastest growth in the demand for radiology but faces a 30% shortage of trained radiologists. AI-based X-Ray analysis is currently a niche worth about USD 400 billion annually and grows consistently by over 20% each year - this niche alone is forecasted to grow larger than the current size of the radiology market by 2031.