French VC Newfund has closed HEKA (€60 million), the first European fund dedicated to BrainTech, to promote European innovation in BrainTech – spanning AI, digital therapeutics, advanced imaging and BioTech.
With the new fund, Newfund aims to finance 25 technology startups focused on brain health. This is in response to U.S. dominance when it comes to global funding and the untapped potential Europe has in neuroscience – with world-class research centres, hospitals and academic teams popping up across the continent.
“Historically, however, many innovations born out of European research have struggled to scale up due to a lack of suitable funding, and a significant share of the value has been captured by the United States,” says François Véron, Managing Partner of Newfund.
Across 2025-26 funding landscape, Newfund’s €60 million HEKA close can be situated within a wider set of financings in BrainTech and adjacent neuro-focused HealthTech and BioTech.
Relevant touchpoints include:
- France: neuroClues, a French-Belgian company that raised €10 million for earlier diagnosis of neurological disorders; EG 427, a Paris-based BioTech that secured €27 million for neurology programmes; and Robeauté, also Paris-based, which raised €27.2 million to develop microrobots for neurosurgery.
- UK: EpilepsyGTx, which secured €28 million to advance gene therapies for severe epilepsy; and CoMind, which raised €85 million to scale non-invasive brain monitoring.
- Switzerland-based Connectome, which secured €1.7 million to scale personalised brain-health insights and early cognitive-change detection
- Austrian startup nyra health, which raised €20 million to expand its digital neurotherapy platform
- Irish Aerska, which launched with €17 million to develop RNAi medicines for brain disease
Taken together, these announcements amount to almost €216 million, indicating a substantial level of capital flowing through the sector.
The French dimension is especially relevant here, as EG 427, Robeauté and the French footprint of neuroClues show that France is already well represented in this area.
Newfund is an early-stage VC firm founded in 2008 that backs entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on companies with international ambition. The fund invests in Seed rounds to kick-start international expansion and continues to support entrepreneurs over the long term through follow-on investments. Its portfolio includes more than 130 companies.
On the investor side, Newfund reportedly brings together the largest base of entrepreneurs and family offices in France for an innovation fund – with €400 million in AUM.
According to data provided by Newfund, €3.5 billion ($4.2 billion) have been raised in 2025 across Europe and the United States, of which €3 billion ($3.6 billion) is in the US. Brain-related technologies now account for more than 19% of global investment in digital health. This momentum is confirmed in 2026, with €2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) already raised in the first three months of 2026, i.e. 256% growth compared with the same period in 2025.
The United States captures more than 85% of this global funding, confirming a very clear dominance.
“We invest in projects where scientific rigour and commercial ambition reinforce each other. HEKA is an ecosystem being built around the best European BrainTech entrepreneurs, whom we support step by step in their US expansion,” adds Anne-Sophie Saint-Martin, Partner at Newfund, in charge of the HEKA fund’s investment strategy.
The fund is built on scientific specialisation, deep analytical capabilities and an active presence in the US ecosystem (50 American startups backed, an office in Palo Alto, a network built over 20 years by Henri Deshays, partner at Newfund since 2017).
HEKA aims to act as a bridge between Europe and the United States, supporting startups in their international expansion strategy. The AI-based solutions the fund invests in fundamentally transform the care pathway, from disease detection to treatment and patient follow-up.
Since launching, HEKA has reviewed over 900 BrainTech startups, met more than 550 entrepreneurs, and built a portfolio of nine companies already making an impact in clinical and industrial settings, from AI tools for radiology, stroke triage and ultrasound screening to post-stroke rehab robotics, mRNA therapy production, digital treatment for depression, and platforms supporting drug discovery and EMDR therapy.
Developed with leading hospitals, universities and industry partners, several of these solutions are reportedly already FDA-cleared, deployed in real-world settings, and helping push brain and health innovation forward.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/04/paris-based-newfund-closes-e60-million-heka-a-specialist-fund-for-braintech/
