News & insights

HERAN Partners grows to €90 million for second healthtech fund

February 12, 2026 - Antwerp (BE)

Healthcare systems around the world are under increasing pressure from ageing populations, staff shortages and rising costs. At the same time, there is no shortage of medical data or technological innovation. The real challenge lies elsewhere: how do we translate all that data and technical capability into more efficient drug development, more targeted medtech solutions, better decision-making for clinicians, and improved care for patients – all within a framework of quality and privacy?

With HERAN HealthTech Fund II, HERAN Partners aims once again to make a meaningful difference. The second HERAN fund raises a €90 million closing and intends to grow further to €110–120 million. A key cornerstone investor is the European Investment Fund, committing €20 million, alongside the Flemish investment company PMV, which doubles its commitment in this second fund to €10 million compared to the first fund.
Additional investors include a group of entrepreneurs, as well as several founders and management teams from portfolio companies of the first fund: HHTF I. BNP Paribas Fortis, Finance&Invest Brussels and KU Leuven Research & Development are also participating, alongside a number of academic and life sciences entrepreneurs.

The next efficiency leap in healthcare will not come from simply generating more data, but from better insights. Technology should support clinicians and researchers – not overload them.

Katleen Vandersmissen, Managing Partner

The challenge of providing care to a growing number of patients with an ever‑shrinking pool of healthcare professionals can be addressed to a significant extent through technology. In a difficult financing climate, where many investors opt for safer and more traditional funds and sectors, we want to equip promising medtech and healthtech funds with the means to develop impact‑driven solutions for the healthcare of tomorrow.

Filip Goossens, Senior Investment Manager Fund Investments PMV

HERAN: a hands-on investor with proven results

With four successful exits already achieved - Bluebee, PharmaFluidics, UgenTec and, most recently, icometrix – HERAN’s first fund has delivered an IRR of over 30%. This track record demonstrates how a focused approach to innovation, entrepreneurship and impact can build highly successful companies in a sector with strong global demand.

That impact is also reflected in portfolio companies such as icometrix, whose AI-driven imaging analysis helps physicians monitor neurological conditions and treatment pathways more quickly and objectively. Or Thirona, which uses advanced imaging to analyse lung disease with greater precision, reducing the need for invasive procedures and enabling more targeted patient care. Today, this technology is already used in more than 1200 hospitals worldwide.

I am proud of what we have achieved together over the past years and wish the entire team every success as they move forward with HERAN Healthtech Fund II.

Annie Vereecken, Founding Partner

HERAN Partners was founded in 2020 by Annie Vereecken, Katleen Vandersmissen, Joris Mortelmans and Herman Verrelst, based on a shared conviction: investing in healthcare requires far more than capital alone. It demands deep understanding of science, technology, entrepreneurship and the realities of healthcare systems. HERAN HealthTech Fund I closed at €75.5 million and invested in 15 companies across Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.

From the outset, HERAN has positioned itself as a hands-on medtech and healthtech investor, working closely with entrepreneurs. With Fund II, HERAN intends to extend both its performance and its active engagement.

Healthtech is not a sprint – it’s a marathon. We want to support companies throughout that entire journey: from promising technology to tangible impact for businesses and patients alike.

Herman Verrelst, Founding Partner

Key Persons HHTF II: Raf Roelands - Katleen Vandersmissen - Herman Verrelst - Mercedes Tuin - Geoffrey D'hondt - Joris Mortelmans

HERAN HealthTech Fund II: European focus and enabling technologies

Building on the success of its first fund, HERAN’s second vehicle again targets European medtech and healthtech companies at seed and Series A stage. To support this ambition, the senior team has been strengthened with Raf Roelands, who progressed to Partner after being involved since Fund I, and Mercedes Tuin, who joined in late 2025 from the Dutch investor BOM (Brabant Development Agency). Together, they complete the Partner team alongside Founders Katleen Vandersmissen and Herman Verrelst.

Under the leadership of Managing Partner Katleen Vandersmissen, HERAN has evolved from a young fund into an organisation with a clear European ambition. Not only has the fund size grown – the team and internal capabilities have also been systematically strengthened.

HERAN’s investment scope focuses on so-called enabling technologies: solutions that make existing processes and technologies smarter, more consistent and more scalable – from biotech to the hospital floor. HERAN invests across software, hardware and services, with a strong emphasis on the intersection of technology, unmet clinical need and a focused go-to-market strategy. As medicine and technology increasingly converge, the opportunities to create meaningful impact continue to expand.

The true value of AI in healthcare is not complexity, but clarity. Good technology reduces cognitive and administrative burden for clinicians, while simultaneously improving the quality of care for patients.

Katleen Vandersmissen, Managing Partner

First investment for HERAN HealthTech Fund II in Spain

Alongside fundraising, HERAN HealthTech Fund II has completed its first investment in Pharmacelera. The Spanish company applies artificial intelligence and quantum mechanics to accelerate and sharpen drug discovery.

The investment underlines the fund’s pan-European strategy.

Sustainable value creation in a regulated healthtech market

Global healthcare is shifting from a growth market to an efficiency market. In Europe, healthcare spending continues to rise structurally faster than GDP, while budgetary headroom is tightening. This fuels demand for technologies that optimise processes, reduce errors and support healthcare professionals. Although Europe is regulatory complex, in healthtech this increasingly acts as a quality filter: companies that master MDR, GDPR and clinical validation build strong barriers to entry and increase their strategic value for investors.

The capital gap with the US can even be an advantage. European funds with focus and active support, such as HERAN, help startups grow in a disciplined way toward product–market fit and clinical adoption, resulting in more sustainable growth and highly attractive returns.

The involvement of European institutions such as the European Investment Fund highlights both the strategic importance of healthcare and life sciences in Europe, and HERAN’s role as a key partner in this ecosystem.

Media coverage

De Tijd

Read the article published by De Tijd (NL, paywall)

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