Chipiron raised $17 million in a funding round to complete the development of its miniaturized MRI scanner. The French company says the funds enable it to build its first prototypes ready for hospital deployment. It plans clinical trials for 2026, aiming to make the imaging technology accessible worldwide.
Founded in 2020, Chipiron aims to make MRI as accessible as X-ray. To date, funding includes a $1.1 million pre-seed round in 2021, plus a $2.7 million seed round in 2023. This latest funding, a Series A round, had Blast leading it, followed by the EIC Fund and iXcore. It brings the company beyond $22 million in total funding since its creation.
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Chipiron said its next-generation MRI could bring the reliability of current models, but as a more compact, mobile and accessible option. It wants to make its technology inclusive, too, with its size allowing those with pacemakers or other implants to undergo MRI. The technology could help claustrophobic individuals, obese or elderly patients and restless children benefit from MRI, too.
Funds support the completion of R&D and the build of the first Chipiron ultra-low-field clinical prototypes, plus clinical trial launches. Within 3-5 years, the company expects to obtain its first FDA and European authorizations. It wants to target the U.S. healthcare market, especially.
“This fundraising marks a major turning point for Chipiron, as it validates both our technological approach and the clinical impact we aim to achieve. Thanks to the trust of our investors, we now have the means to complete our R&D phase and begin clinical investigations in hospitals as early as next year,” said Evan Kervella, CEO and co-founder of Chipiron. “Our goal has remained the same since day one: to transform MRI accessibility and fundamentally change medical care worldwide.”
