Sonendo Closes $35 Million Equity Financing Round

Sonendo Inc., developer of a breakthrough technology for dentistry, has completed an equity financing totaling $35 million through new and existing investors. The financing round led by DiNovA Capital will allow Sonendo to advance the commercialization of its GentleWave System as an alternative to standard root canal treatment and develop additional products in adjacent verticals to leverage its Multisonic Ultracleaning technology platform. 
 
New investors DiNovA Capital and CVF LLC, an affiliate of Henry Crown & Company, joined with existing investors Fjord Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Meritech Capital Partners, NeoMed Management, and SEB Private Equity to form the investor syndicate. In connection with the financing, Michael Zhao of DiNovA Capital has joined the Sonendo Board of Directors. 
 
“Sonendo’s GentleWave System is uniquely positioned to transform endodontic therapy by delivering exponential improvements in clinical efficacy. DiNovA Capital is pleased to join Sonendo’s existing investors and we look forward to supporting the management and employees of Sonendo in bringing this product to patients,” Zhao said.
 
Sonendo President and CEO Bjarne Bergheim commented, “With DiNovA Capital and CVF, we are pleased to expand our syndicate of committed, long-term investors who recognize the potential of this technology.  Proceeds from this financing will provide the resources to support the growth of our commercialization efforts of the GentleWave System as well as continuing our development activities in furthering our Multisonic Ultracleaning technology platform. Our investors share our passion for helping dentists deliver significant, patient-centric, improvements in clinical efficacy and treatment efficiency as we continue to live up to our mission of Saving Teeth Through Sound Science.”
 
Founded in 2011, DiNovA Capital is a venture capital firm dedicated to healthcare industry and consists of globally connected professionals who have experience in investment management, private equity, venture capital and incubation. DiNovA Capital currently manages five USD and RMB funds.
 
CVF is the venture capital arm of Henry Crown & Company, a privately-owned investment company.
 
Fjord Ventures is a life-science focused technology accelerator that provides operational management expertise and a highly capital efficient shared infrastructure to portfolio companies. Since its formation in 2005, Fjord Ventures has created more than 10 companies and, together with its affiliates, invests in its portfolio companies from seed through later stage rounds. Sonendo was founded by Olav Bergheim, the founder of Fjord Ventures.
 
OrbiMed is an investment firm dedicated exclusively to the healthcare sector, with more than $14 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the spectrum of healthcare companies, from venture capital startups to large multinational companies. OrbiMed’s team of more than 90 employees manages a series of private equity funds, public equity funds, royalty/debt funds and other investment vehicles. OrbiMed maintains its headquarters in New York, N.Y., with additional offices in San Francisco, Calif.; Shanghai China; Mumbai, India, and Herzliya, Israel.
 
Meritech Capital Partners is a provider of late-stage venture capital to category-defining private technology companies. With more than $3 billion under management, Meritech primarily leads investments into companies with proven and differentiated technology, rapidly-growing revenue and experienced management teams. With one of the most active venture portfolios in Silicon Valley, Meritech provides guidance on issues facing rapidly growing companies including IPO market timing and positioning, M&A strategies and negotiations and adviser selection.

NeoMed is a Jersey (United Kingdom) based investment firm, exclusively focused on investments in the healthcare industry. Founded in 1997, NeoMed has established five funds to date. NeoMed invests in emerging companies with outstanding growth prospects. These companies are developing innovative and proprietary medical products that address substantial market opportunities in the pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics industries. NeoMed has a multi-stage investment approach and invests at all stages of development from start-up to later stage growth financings. Since its inception, NeoMed has successfully invested in more than 40 companies in Europe, including Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as in North America.
 
SEB Private Equity is a part of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and invests capital from top-tier third party institutions. Established in 1856, SEB is one of the major Nordic banks. Since its formation in 1998, SEB Private Equity has become a leading global private equity investor based in the Nordics focusing on developing companies both operationally and strategically by partnering with entrepreneurs and managers. Combined over the various investment strategies, SEB Private Equity manages about $4 billion in capital on behalf of clients and makes investments both across the Nordics and globally.
 
Sonendo Inc. is a privately-held, venture-backed company developing technologies to transform dentistry by saving teeth through sound science. The first commercially available product from Sonendo, the GentleWave System, available in the United States, shows significant improvements in clinical efficacy, and treatment efficiency when compared to standard root canal techniques^1-2. 
 
References:
1. Sigurdsson A et al. (2016) J Endod. 42:1040-48.
2. Molina B et al. (2015) J Endod. 41:1701-05.