SAN FRANCISCO — Avive Solutions, Inc., a developer of the world’s most advanced connected automated external defibrillator (AED) – the Avive Connect AED – announced the closing of a $56.5 million growth equity financing. The round was led by Questa Capital, Laerdal Million Lives Fund (LMLF), and Catalyst Health Ventures, and welcomed several new investors including RC Capital and Eckuity Capital. The new capital will be used to accelerate Avive’s commercial developments across the United States and to further expand the team with top talent. The Company also announced that Rik Vandevenne, Managing Partner at RC Capital, has joined Avive’s Board of Directors.
“The Avive team is revolutionizing Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) response with their innovative platform that seamlessly integrates a next generation AED device with a robust software ecosystem to dramatically shorten the time to deliver a life saving shock,” says Vandevenne. “We believe this will meaningfully move the needle on survivability for patients of all ages and we are excited to join the board to support in the next stage of growth.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is a massive healthcare challenge in the US, with over 430,000 lives lost each year to this devastating condition. Time is the greatest enemy especially for those who experience out-of-hospital SCA, as survivability decreases by 7-10% for every minute they go without a shock from a defibrillator and high-quality CPR. Despite the heroic efforts of first responders, EMS typically takes 8-12 minutes to arrive on scene, making the use of an AED by a bystander in the earliest minutes of an emergency critical for survival. Currently, the lack of connectivity with AEDs and the inability of emergency and citizen responders to identify where AEDs are located, even when devices are nearby, has led to a dire situation where AEDs are only used in around 4% of SCA events prior to EMS arrival. The result is a shockingly low 10% nationwide survival rate for SCA patients that has remained unchanged for decades, despite early defibrillation being proven as an effective therapy.
Avive’s mission is to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by making AEDs ubiquitous: portable, ready-to-use devices in communities, schools, businesses, and homes. The company aims to create a new paradigm where AEDs are accessed and utilized far more often in the critical early minutes of a cardiac emergency, giving patients the best possible chance of survival.
At the heart of Avive’s solution is the portable, handheld Avive Connect AED, which has robust internet connectivity via Cellular, WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth that powers several of Avive’s software solutions. One of those solutions, Avive’s Intelligent Response Platform™, powers a program Avive calls the 4-Minute City™, which offers a unique approach to drive the improvement of survival rates throughout the United States. Avive partners with its 4-Minute Cities to use historical SCA data to strategically deploy hundreds of Avive Connect AEDs throughout their community. These communities then leverage Avive’s software to network those AEDs into their 911 and public safety ecosystem through the Company’s partnership with intelligent safety company RapidSOS. Through its 4-Minute Cities, Avive is establishing a connected network of willing responders with AEDs that can be audibly alerted by 911, and dispatched with a map on the device and via SMS to a nearby SCA emergency, with the goal of an AED being used on the patient well before EMS arrives on scene. This transformative program and solution is already in active use in forward-thinking communities such as Cumberland County, PA; Jackson, TN; Forsyth County, GA and Carrollton, TX – with many more expected to launch in 2024.
“Avive is poised to disrupt a critical, but innovation-starved market – automated external defibrillators,” says Ryan Drant, Managing Partner at Questa Capital and Avive board member. “The visionary team led by Sameer Jafri, Rory Beyer, and Moseley Andrews has fundamentally transformed AEDs by integrating seamless, wireless connectivity. This connectivity not only allows for remote device monitoring and management, but crucially, can enable much faster response times to emergent cardiac arrest events.”
“Since we successfully launched our Avive Connect AED in the summer of 2023, we’ve been incredibly encouraged by the tremendous demand we’ve seen for our lifesaving technology,” added Sameer Jafri, Avive’s CEO. “Most importantly, our device has already saved numerous lives. Just last week in Georgia, a young man in his 30’s collapsed during his regular morning run, and was resuscitated by a quick-thinking police officer who used the Avive Connect AED. Because of the product our team has made possible, and the foresight of that police department to equip their vehicles with Avive Connect AEDs, that gentleman now has a chance to have an entire life ahead of him. We are grateful for the strong support from our investors, and look forward to partnering with them to enable many more lifesaving stories and impact.”
Avive has rapidly built an extensive customer base, delivering their product to organizations across all 50 states. This diverse customer roster includes national gym chains, Fortune 100 companies, Federal Government agencies, large universities, K-12 school districts, and more, underscoring the broad appeal and applicability of Avive’s solution. These large, multi-site customers leverage Avive’s other key software solution, the REALConnect Platform™, which is designed to automate the tracking, maintenance, and oversight of an AED owner’s fleet of devices.
