Wellumio has closed an oversubscribed US$9.75m round to advance its portable brain imaging system for stroke assessment at the point of care.
The financing round was led by Nuance Connected Capital, with participation from Icehouse Ventures, NZ Growth Capital Partners’ Aspire Seed Fund, Pacific Channel, Booster, Cure Kids Ventures, Flying Kiwi and Enterprise Angels.
The New Zealand-based company said the pre-Series A financing will support clinical validation, regulatory activities and preparations for commercialisation.
Its Axana system is a portable, battery-powered device being developed to provide magnetic resonance, or MR-based, stroke assessment at the point of care.
Dr Shieak Tzeng, cofounder and chief executive of Wellumio, said: “Every minute counts in stroke care, yet only a small proportion of patients receive treatment within the ‘golden hour’, when timely intervention offers the best chance of reducing long-term disability.”
Wellumio said the device weighs about 50kg and is intended to operate without contrast agents, cryogenics or shielded rooms.
This could allow brain imaging to be carried out in emergency departments and other acute care settings.
However, the technology remains in clinical development and has not received regulatory approval.
Axana is based on Wellumio’s Pulsed Gradient Free Mapping technology, which received a US patent in December 2025.
The company said preclinical studies and first-in-human feasibility trials showed agreement with conventional MR imaging across several stroke biomarkers.
Biomarkers are measurable signs that can help clinicians assess a medical condition.
