CELLICO (CEO Kim Jeong-seok), a social venture company developing electronic medical devices (hereinafter referred to as electronic eyes) for the visually impaired, announced that it had attracted pre-Series A investment on August 17. Yuanta Investment solely participated in this investment, and the investment amount is undisclosed.
Electronic medicine is a compound word of ‘electronic’ and ‘pharmaceutical’ and refers to an electronic device that treats diseases through electrical signals generated in the brain and nerve cells. Various developments are underway to treat diseases safely and more conveniently than existing drugs or medical procedures made from natural or chemical substances.
The electronic eye being developed by Celico is a device that inserts an image sensor chip that acts as a camera into the layer of visual cells damaged by retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration. The inserted device has the function of detecting light and converting it into bioelectrical signals, enabling the restoration of vision for visually impaired patients.
Currently, Celico has secured image sensor design technology and biocompatible packaging technology to replace photocells, and is verifying safety through animal testing. It is expected that once augmented reality technology for vision correction is completed, it will contribute to the independent living of visually impaired patients.
Kim Jeong-seok, CEO of Celico, said, “Through this investment from Yuanta Investment, we have gained momentum in developing electronic eye products that are integrated with augmented reality.” He added, “We will focus on steadily recruiting talent and developing technology to become a socially meaningful social venture company.” “I will grow,” he said.
Park Sang-hyun, director of Yuanta Investment, who executed this investment, said, “I agree with the business purpose of solving the social problem of visual impairment with Cellico’s cutting-edge technology, and it is a contribution to strengthening the technological competitiveness of the domestic electropharmaceutical field through local production of materials and components. “So we made this investment,” he said.
Selico, which is celebrating its third year in business this year, boasts unrivaled technological competitiveness in Korea by holding 27 intellectual property rights. In addition, starting with the selection of the ‘TIPS Program’ in 2021, ▲ Grand Prize at the ‘New Gyeonggi Startup Contest’ hosted by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office ▲ Obtained ‘Technology Guarantee Fund Social Venture Company Identification’ certification ▲ Selection of ‘Samsung Electronics C Lab Outside’ in 2022 ▲ Gyeonggi-do WINGS ( Its technological prowess has been consistently recognized externally, including by being selected as a private investment-linked technology startup support project.
The corrected visual acuity of Cellico’s electronic eye device, which is scheduled to be released in the future, is aimed at a maximum of 0.1 or higher, and to this end, cutting-edge convergence technology is being developed by applying various engineering technologies such as augmented reality, semiconductors, IT, and materials engineering.
Meanwhile, Selico is currently a company located in the Pangyo Startup Zone, established by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and operated by the Startup Promotion Agency and the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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