UK Startup CoMind Raises Over $100 M to Monitor Brains

Founded in London in 2018 by James Dacombe (who left school at 16) and co-founded by Christina Franzeskides, CoMind is taking on one of healthcare’s toughest frontiers: monitoring the brain at the bedside without drilling into the skull. Financial Times

🧪 What They’re Building

CoMind’s flagship platform, called CoMind One, employs low-power infrared lasers and optical interferometry to send light through the scalp and skull, then measure how that light is reflected by brain tissue.

These measurements aim to track multiple critical physiological parameters simultaneously, including:

• Cerebral blood flow (CBF)
• Cerebral autoregulation
• Intracranial pressure (ICP)

According to CoMind’s website and supporting publications, the goal is to provide continuous, non-invasive monitoring across critical-care settings, surgery and the operating theatre.

💸 Funding & Growth

In October 2025 CoMind announced a $60 million funding round led by Plural, bringing total capital raised to approximately $102.5 million. Existing backers include Angelini Ventures, Octopus Ventures and LocalGlobe.

🎯 Why This Matters

For Patients & Clinicians

• Traditional brain monitoring in intensive care often relies on invasive methods like bolt-implants drilled through the skull. CoMind’s approach offers a non-invasive alternative, reducing risk and potentially cost.
• Real-time and continuous monitoring of parameters like cerebral blood flow could give clinicians early warning signals for complications after traumatic brain injury or during cardiac surgery.

For Deep-Tech Founders

• While many startups chase software or consumer-apps, CoMind is a reminder that hardware innovation — combining optics, signal-processing and clinical validation — remains investible.
• The fact that they raised nine-figure funding underscores growing investor appetite for med-tech hardware, not just algorithms.

For the MedTech Ecosystem

• With regulatory and technical hurdles high in neurotechnology, CoMind’s progress signals that “bedside brain monitoring” could become a viable category rather than science fiction.
• Being UK-based adds to the narrative that serious medtech innovation is not confined to the US.

🔍 Key Challenges & What to Watch

• Regulatory approval: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance will be a critical milestone. A delayed or complex approval process could slow time-to-market.
• Manufacturing scale: CoMind has partnered with Benchmark Electronics for device production. Scaling optics-hardware reliably at hospital-grade will be a test. Financial Times
• Clinical outcomes: Demonstrating improved patient outcomes (fewer complications, lower mortality) will be essential to adoption. Academic peer-reviewed publications will matter.
• Competitive moat: Other companies are working on neuromonitoring and brain-computer interfaces. CoMind’s optics-based platform must prove durable and distinct.
• Hospital adoption: Even if the device works well, hospital procurement and infrastructure cycles tend to be slow — convincing hospital administrators to upgrade systems will take time.

📅 What’s Next

• CoMind is currently recruiting for its third clinical trial in the U.S. with plans to commercialise around 2027.
• The company plans to expand usage beyond critical care into broader clinical wards and possibly surgical settings, increasing the potential market size.
• They are also building an AI platform (CoVision) layered on their hardware, which aims to predict complications and offer decision-support using continuous brain data, a move from monitoring to predictive care. angeliniventures.com

✍️ The Takeaway

CoMind is not just building another gadget. It’s reshaping how we think about one of the body’s most complex organs. For anyone in tech or health innovation: the message is simple. If you want to build something durable, pick a hard infrastructure problem, build the full stack (hardware + software + clinical workflow) and aim for real world impact.
Because sometimes the biggest startup opportunities don’t sit on your phone... they sit on the hospital bedside.