Catalpa Ventures has officially announced the first closing of its $34.9 million Catalpa Health Fund I, the first early-stage HealthTech-focused venture capital fund based in Luxembourg. Now active, the fund will invest in innovative European startups addressing some of the continent's most pressing healthcare challenges. This launch signals a significant commitment to backing scalable technological solutions that can relieve increasingly strained healthcare systems across Europe.
Addressing Systemic Healthcare Pressures
The fund’s creation comes at a critical time for Europe’s healthcare infrastructure, which is under mounting demographic and financial pressure. Healthcare expenditure already averages around 10% of GDP across the EU and is growing faster than the wider economy, raising questions about long-term sustainability. At the same time, an aging population, with people over 65 often living with three to four chronic conditions, is driving demand for more complex, continuous care.
These trends are exacerbated by a deepening shortage of medical personnel. The World Health Organization projects a shortfall of around four million healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and long-term care staff, across Europe by 2030. As hospitals and care providers become increasingly overstretched, the need for evidence-based, technology-driven solutions that strengthen clinical capacity and improve outcomes has never been more urgent.
A Focused Investment Strategy
Catalpa Ventures plans to deploy capital in 15 to 20 pre-seed and seed-stage companies over the next four years, with a final close of the fund targeted for the first quarter of 2027. Initial ticket sizes will range from $350,000 to $1.7 million, with additional capital reserved for follow-on investments in the strongest portfolio companies. This strategy is designed to offer sustained support as founders move from initial validation to scaling their solutions in real-world healthcare settings.
The fund will prioritize European founders building evidence-based HealthTech solutions in three main areas: prevention and management of disease, digital tools that support healthcare professionals in clinical decision-making and patient management, and technologies that streamline workflows or reduce administrative burdens in environments such as clinics, general practices, clinical research organizations, and laboratories. Catalpa Ventures has set an ambition to back innovations capable of improving healthcare outcomes for at least 100 million people, aligning financial returns with measurable societal impact.
Expert Leadership and Inaugural Investment
Catalpa Health Fund I is led by a founding team whose collective expertise spans science, medicine, entrepreneurship, and venture investing. The partners include Univ Prof Dr med Silke Sperling, who brings experience from institutions such as Max Planck, the NIH, and Charité; Dr Thomas Goergen, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Luxembourg Investment Solutions; Willibrord Ehses, a former partner at a Luxembourg venture firm; and Dr Christian Goergen. This multidisciplinary leadership enables the fund to combine rigorous scientific and clinical due diligence with practical support for founders scaling regulated healthcare products.
Partner Dr Thomas Goergen stated that the team is “building a platform for bold innovation and real impact, backing tomorrow’s HealthTech leaders to transform care for millions.” Prof Dr med Silke Sperling added that as evidence-based health solutions converge with AI at unprecedented speed, a highly compelling investment opportunity is emerging that the Catalpa Health Fund is uniquely positioned to capture.
This vision is already being put into practice with the fund’s first investment in Noah Labs, a startup developing a certified, reimbursable telemedicine platform for managing heart failure. The company focuses on transforming the monitoring and treatment of heart failure patients through advanced digital health infrastructure that integrates into existing care pathways and reimbursement frameworks.
Noah Labs leverages sophisticated voice analytics to support earlier detection of clinical deterioration and improved ongoing care, with the goal of reducing avoidable hospitalizations and establishing new standards in personalized healthcare. This inaugural investment closely aligns with Catalpa’s thesis of backing scientifically validated, clinically integrated technologies that address critical unmet needs within the healthcare system. It also sets a clear precedent for the kind of impactful companies the fund aims to support.
The launch of Catalpa Health Fund I represents a pivotal development for both the European HealthTech ecosystem and Luxembourg’s emergence as a hub for innovation-driven healthcare investment. With its first closing secured, a clear strategy in place, and an inaugural portfolio company already onboarded, the fund is well-positioned to cultivate the next generation of HealthTech solutions that will help build a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable healthcare future for millions across Europe.