Sony Invests $10 M in Rainbow Medical

Sony Corporation has invested $10 million in Rainbow Medical, an Israeli investment group and developer of medical device companies.

Previous investors in Rainbow Medical include Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT), Abbott Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: ABT), and Italy’s Sorin. Rainbow Medical, which invests in the inventions of serial entrepreneur Yossi Gross, is managed by Efi Cohen-Arazi.

Sony is building its brand in the healthcare field and recently made a $644 million investment in Olympus Corporation giving which will focus on miniature imaging systems for endoscopic procedures. Rainbow’s portfolio companies include Enopace which raised $18 million from Sorin a few months ago. Enopace has developed a minimally invasive, implantable neurostimulator that increases cardiac efficiency by reducing left ventricular workload.

Another portfolio company, Vascular Dynamics is developing the MobiusHD, atheter-delivered implant for the treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension). The company, which mainly operates in the US, has raised $13.5 million from a US investment fund, and is about to begin a clinical trial there. Maxillent is developing the iRaise Sinus Lift Implant, a minimally invasive dental procedure for lifting the sinus. ” Rainbow Medical’s model includes a single in-house entrepreneur for a great many companies, which enables it to move forward relatively quickly The company provides its portfolio company with services, including regulatory relations, financial management, and legal advice. It generally invests about $3.5 million in the portfolio companies, bringing them to human clinical trial stage, before it starts to look for other investors. Rainbow Medical was founded in 2007, and raised $50 million in its second financing round, led by Abbott and Medtronic, in 2012.