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Major funding round for brain-scan startup CoMind — full detailed report

Headline: CoMind pulls in $60M Series A (part of $102.5M total) to commercialize a non-invasive brain-monitoring device as it recruits for U.S. trials and targets FDA approval. (Financial Times)

Quick summary (TL;DR)

London-based neurotech CoMind announced a financing package that brings its total funding to $102.5 million, including a $60 million round led by Plural. The cash will accelerate clinical trials, regulatory clearance efforts (U.S. FDA), scale manufacturing and expand the team. (comind.io)
CoMind is developing CoMind One, a non-invasive photonics device that measures cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure (ICP) and autoregulation through the skull using low-power infrared lasers and advanced optics + compute. The company positions this as an alternative to invasive intracranial bolts and a continuous bedside monitor for ICUs and operating theatres. (Financial Times)
The company has run clinical studies in London and Barcelona and is recruiting for a third clinical trial in the U.S. with an eye toward FDA approval and a possible commercial launch in the coming years. Manufacturing partnerships and production planning are already underway. (Financial Times)

The round — who, how much, and why it matters

CoMind’s latest financing was led by Plural (the VC founded by Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus), with participation from existing backers including Angelini Ventures, LocalGlobe, Octopus Ventures, Crane, Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First. The round is commonly reported as $60M for the Series A portion; CoMind confirms the announcement brings its total raised to $102.5M to date. The funding signals strong investor conviction in non-invasive neuromonitoring — a high-impact, regulated healthtech space with both clinical and system-level cost implications. (Sifted)

Why it matters: intracranial pressure and cerebral blood flow are critical data for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, during cardiac surgery, and in intensive care. Current “gold standard” continuous monitoring typically requires drilling into the skull (an invasive bolt), which carries risks and logistical limitations. A reliable non-invasive device could change standard monitoring practices, enable earlier interventions, and reduce complication rates and costs. (Financial Times)

The product and the technology (what CoMind One does)

CoMind One is described as a photonic, non-invasive brain monitor that uses low-power infrared lasers and advanced optical sensing to infer cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure and cerebrovascular autoregulation in real time. The system relies on sophisticated signal processing and GPU-level compute to extract physiological signals through the skull — the company likens parts of the sensing/processing approach to lidar and advanced optics used in other industries. The device aims to provide continuous bedside monitoring comparable in clinical value to invasive techniques without surgical insertion. (Financial Times)

Clinical evidence so far: CoMind has completed trials in London and Barcelona demonstrating feasibility; the next step is larger, multi-center studies — including the U.S. trial currently recruiting — to support regulatory filings. The company says these studies will underpin claims for safety and performance needed by regulators like the FDA. (Financial Times)

Founder & team — origin story and leadership

CoMind was founded by James Dacombe, who started the project as a teenager and left school early to build the company. Dacombe has been a visible founder voice for the firm; in announcing the round he reiterated the company goal of making brain monitoring “as common as having your blood pressure taken.” That narrative — a mix of founder ambition and a clear clinical problem — has helped the startup attract investors and clinical collaborators. (Financial Times)

Use of proceeds — where the cash will go

According to the company and reporting across outlets, the financing will be used to:

Complete additional clinical trials (including the U.S. study), generate pivotal data for regulatory submissions and expand clinical partnerships. (comind.io)
Advance regulatory filings with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other global regulators, a prerequisite for broad clinical adoption and commercial sales in regulated markets. (Financial Times)
Scale manufacturing through partnerships with established electronics/EMS providers (the company is engaging production partners to prepare for regulated device manufacturing). Reporting notes Benchmark Electronics as a production partner supporting scale-up. (Financial Times)
Grow the team across engineering, clinical affairs, regulatory and commercial functions. (comind.io)

Market opportunity & clinical impact

The immediate clinical use cases are:

Continuous monitoring in neuro-critical care (TBI, subarachnoid hemorrhage, severe stroke), where ICP and autoregulation help guide interventions. (Financial Times)
Perioperative monitoring, especially during cardiac surgery and other high-risk operations where brain perfusion can change rapidly. (Financial Times)

If validated and widely adopted, an accurate, continuous, non-invasive monitor could reduce the need for invasive monitoring, speed diagnosis of deteriorating brain states, and potentially shorten ICU stays — delivering clinical benefits and cost savings to hospitals. Investors see this upside, but adoption will depend on strong clinical evidence and reimbursement pathways. (Tech.eu)

Risks and challenges

Regulatory bar: FDA clearance/approval requires robust multi-center clinical data demonstrating safety and equivalence (or sufficient clinical utility) compared with invasive standards. Timeline and trial outcomes are uncertain. (Financial Times)
Clinical acceptance: Critical-care clinicians are appropriately cautious; widespread adoption requires guideline endorsements and demonstrated improvements in outcomes or workflow. (Tech.eu)
Technical limits: Measuring physiological signals through bone is hard — signal-to-noise, patient variability (skull thickness, hair, skin) and motion artefacts are real engineering hurdles. CoMind will need convincing head-to-head data. (Tech.eu)
Commercial & reimbursement: Hospitals will evaluate cost, training, integration with monitoring systems and reimbursement — all will influence uptake. (MassDevice)

What’s next / timeline

Near term: Complete ongoing recruitment for the U.S. clinical trial(s); scale manufacturing partnerships and expand clinical sites. (Financial Times)
Mid term: Submit regulatory dossiers (FDA) based on trial results; pursue market access pathways and early adopter hospital programs if clearance is obtained. (Financial Times)
Long term: Broader rollout across ICUs, operating rooms and possibly ambulatory settings depending on device claims and performance. (Tech.eu)

Sources & further reading

CoMind press release: “CoMind announces $102.5m funding to redefine clinical monitoring of the brain” (company site). (comind.io)
Financial Times: “UK brain monitoring start-up goes from teenage idea to $100mn funding” (coverage of round, founder and regulatory plans). (Financial Times)
Sifted: “Plural backs brain monitoring startup CoMind in $60m round” (round details & investor context). (Sifted)
Tech.eu: “Non-drill brain monitoring startup CoMind raises over $100M” (background & funding). (Tech.eu)
MassDevice / industry reporting: “CoMind raises $102.5M to support brain monitoring tech” (device/clinical/regulatory notes). (MassDevice)
Founder announcement (X / Twitter): James Dacombe’s post confirming the fundraising. (X (formerly Twitter))

Nice — below are 3 concise case studies (realistic clinical vignettes based on CoMind’s stated use-cases and published trial activity) plus targeted commentary (investor, regulatory, clinical, technical, and commercial angles). I’ve cited the most important public sources at the end of each load-bearing section.

Case studies

Case study A — Neuro-critical care: traumatic brain injury (TBI) — earlier intervention

A 42-year-old male presents to a tertiary hospital after a road-traffic collision with moderate TBI. He’s intubated and admitted to the neuro-ICU. Standard care includes neurological exam and intermittent CT, but continuous intracranial pressure (ICP) is not immediately available without an invasive bolt.
With a CoMind One placed at the bedside, the ICU team receives continuous estimates of ICP, cerebral blood flow and autoregulation trends. The monitor shows a progressive rise in ICP and deteriorating autoregulation before the patient’s neurological exam changes. The team escalates medical therapy (head elevation, osmotherapy) and arranges expedited CT and neurosurgical review. Early detection prevents secondary brain injury and shortens time to intervention.
(Background: CoMind has completed feasibility trials in London/Barcelona and is recruiting U.S. studies to validate non-invasive measurements against invasive standards.) (Financial Times)

Case study B — Perioperative monitoring in high-risk cardiac surgery

A 67-year-old undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting experiences intraoperative hypotension during cardiopulmonary bypass. Traditional monitoring shows systemic blood pressure changes, but brain perfusion status is uncertain. Using CoMind One in the operating theatre, the perfusionist and anaesthetist get near-real-time cerebral blood flow and autoregulation indices. Loss of autoregulation prompts adjustments in pump flows and paCO₂ management, preventing cerebral hypoperfusion. Post-op cognitive dysfunction risk is reduced through tailored management.
(Use case commonly cited by the company and reporters as a major commercial opportunity.) (Tech.eu)

Case study C — Stroke / subarachnoid hemorrhage (monitoring recovery & secondary deterioration)

A patient with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is at risk of delayed cerebral ischemia (vasospasm). Continuous bedside cerebral blood flow trend data from a non-invasive monitor helps detect early reductions in perfusion that precede clinical decline. This triggers earlier angiographic assessment and intervention, potentially improving neurologic outcome and reducing ICU length of stay.
(Clinical trials and multi-center data will be required to prove outcome benefit; CoMind’s published materials and trials emphasize feasibility and regulatory study plans.) (Financial Times)

Comments — what this round means (quick bullets)

1) Validation is the next gating item (regulatory & clinical).
Investors bought into the technology and team — CoMind announced $60M in the round led by Plural, taking total to $102.5M — but FDA clearance will hinge on robust, multi-center data showing the device either matches invasive measures or provides actionable clinical value. Expect pivotal U.S. studies and tightly designed head-to-head comparisons. (Sifted)

2) Manufacturing & scale: credible partners matter.
Public reporting links CoMind’s scale plans to production partners (reports mention Benchmark as a manufacturing ally), which matters for regulated device quality and EU/US supply chain readiness. Contract manufacturing capability shortens time to market once regulatory green lights arrive. (Financial Times)

3) Commercial pathway: ICU + OR first, then step-down markets.
High-value hospital settings (neuro-ICU, cardiac theatres) are the logical early adopters because they already value continuous physiologic monitoring. Wider adoption (stroke wards, general ICUs) will need evidence of cost-effectiveness and reimbursement codes. (Tech.eu)

4) Technical caveats — measurement variability & confounders.
Measuring signals through skull/soft tissue (hair, scalp thickness, bone heterogeneity, motion) is inherently noisy. The product’s value depends on signal processing, calibration against standards, and clear failure modes. Peer-reviewed validation vs invasive ICP/CBF remains the hard science test. (Financial Times)

5) Investor signal: conviction in founder + category.
A large, founder-friendly round led by Plural signals confidence in both the team (James Dacombe) and the idea that non-invasive neuromonitoring is a large, under-served market. But later rounds will price in trial results and early commercial traction. (Sifted)

6) Ethical & clinical governance points.
Continuous brain monitoring raises questions about alarm fatigue, interpretation responsibility (who acts on trends), data ownership and integration with electronic health records. Hospitals will demand clear clinical protocols and training. (These issues are predictable adoption friction, not unique to CoMind.) (CoMind)

Suggested follow-ups (I can do these next)

Convert the case studies into two slide deck slides (one clinical vignette + one probability/impact slide) for investor or clinical audiences.
Draft a short press Q&A (3–5 FAQs) CoMind might publish to address clinician/regulatory/manufacturing questions.
Produce a comparative table that maps CoMind One vs invasive ICP bolts and vs existing non-invasive modalities (TCD, NIRS) — lists metrics, strengths, evidence status.