Award-winning Scottish startup Novosound today announces snapping up a total of €3.9 million, to expand its world-first ultrasound technology into new global markets.
The Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund led the round with €1.7 million, followed by approximately €600K from the Foresight Scottish Growth Fund. Existing shareholders also took part, including Par Equity, Kelvin Capital, Gabriel Investments, the University of the West of Scotland, and the Scottish Investment Bank (the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise).
Ultrasound sensors produce sound waves with frequencies above the audible range of humans, which transmit through an object to measure or image internal features. Commonly known for use in maternity wards and other hospital departments, ultrasound imaging is also extensively applied in industrial settings as a safe Non-Destructive Testing (“NDT”) technique for revealing below-surface deformities, cracks or corrosion.
Novosound, founded in 2018, employs the latest ‘thin film deposition’ techniques to innovate ultrasound sensor technology as we know it. Their team has created the world’s first truly flexible ultrasound sensor with the ability to operate continuously at high temperatures and offer higher resolution images. This new technology will most likely be used within the previously mentioned NDT market, to significantly improve the inspection of curved surfaces in aerospace, automotive and industrial applications. Its ‘fit and forget’ sensors, with the ability to withstand high temperatures and be permanently installed, enable completely new applications such as the real-time monitoring of high value oil and gas assets, to predict necessary maintenance and greatly reduce downtime.
Andrew Bloxam, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight, commented: “Novosound is a brilliant example of the type of disruptive technology and team that we look for. Its early traction in NDT really stood out to us. There is also huge potential for other markets that it has not yet pushed into, which makes it a really exciting opportunity.”
Matthew Burke, Head of Technology Ventures, Williams Advanced Engineering, said: “Our technical specialists were excited to see Novosound’s game changing NDT technology and immediately realised potential applications within our operations and industry sectors. With this investment we look forward to applying our product development and manufacturing capabilities to support the growth of Novosound.”
The company will use the funding to pursue its ambitious expansion plans into global markets and new industries. It will also draw on Foresight’s track record of supporting the growth of early stage, innovative technology companies, and Williams’ extensive expertise in ultrasound NDT techniques currently applied by its F1 team.
