Startup seeking to make MRI ‘10 times less expensive’ raises $17M

A Paris, France-based startup seeking to make magnetic resonance imaging “10 times less expensive” has raised $17 million (USD) in new funding. 

French scientists Evan Kervella and Dimitri Labat founded Chipiron in 2020, hoping to roll out a new portable MRI system. Their Series A investment round was supported by local investment groups including the Blast Club, EIC (European Innovation Council) Fund, and iXcore. 

Leaders said they’ll use the money to build a prototype of the portable machine, hoping to launch clinical trials in 2026. 

“This fundraising marks a major turning point for Chipiron, as it validates both our technological approach and the clinical impact we aim to achieve,” CEO Evan Kervella said in an April 30 announcement. “Our goal has remained the same since day one: to transform MRI accessibility and fundamentally change medical care worldwide,” he added later. 

Chipiron wants to make MRI as ubiquitous as X-ray, overcoming the modality’s high cost and complex infrastructure requirements. Its product will utilize ultralow field strength, allowing individuals with pacemakers or other impediments to undergo magnetic resonance imaging. The company also wants to target care locations that cannot offer MRI due to space constraints, such as private clinics. Chipiron hopes to obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and deploy 100 devices within the next five years. 

“IXcore chose to invest in Chipiron for three reasons: The team is outstanding, the science and technology behind this MRI are perfectly mastered, and the company is clearly offering a game-changing product, Hervé Arditty, president of the Marly Le Roi, France-based venture capital firm, said in the announcement. 

Chipiron follows in the footsteps of Guilford, Connecticut-based Hyperfine, which launched its own portable MRI machine, the Swoop, in 2020.