Spex Capital: Bridging the HealthTech Funding Gap with Strategic Partnerships and Industry Expertise

London-based venture capital firm Spex Capital is emerging as a pivotal player in early-stage digital health and medical technology investment, combining deep healthcare expertise with a powerful distribution network to accelerate the commercialisation of breakthrough technologies across global healthcare systems.

Spex Capital Key Takeaways

• Strategic Fund Launch: Spex Capital secured €30 million towards its €100 million Venture HealthTech Fund in October 2025, positioning it among the largest European early-stage healthtech funds.
• Unique Validation Network: The firm’s partnerships with NHS England, Penn Medicine, and EIT Digital create an unparalleled distribution and validation network across major healthcare markets.
• Experienced Leadership: Founder Claudio D’Angelo (investment banking/healthtech VC) and Chairman Lord Markham (former UK Health Minister/successful entrepreneur) provide expertise in both capital markets and healthcare system insights.
• Addressing Critical Funding Gap: Spex Capital specifically targets the European healthtech scale-up capital gap, providing flexible investment from €500,000 to €5 million with commitment to follow-on funding through Series B.

What is Spex Capital?

Spex Capital is a specialised venture capital firm focused exclusively on early-stage digital healthcare and medical technology investments. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in London, the company has positioned itself as a bridge between innovative health technology startups and the global healthcare systems they aim to transform.

The firm’s name derives from “specere,” the Latin verb meaning “to look at,” reflecting its philosophy of thorough observation and meticulous due diligence in selecting investment opportunities. This careful approach has enabled Spex Capital to build a portfolio that addresses critical challenges facing healthcare systems worldwide, from ageing populations and rising patient demand to systemic cost pressures and the urgent need for digital transformation.

What distinguishes Spex Capital from other health technology investors is its emphasis on commercialisation and validation. The firm leverages an extensive network to help portfolio companies navigate the complex process of bringing health technologies to market and achieving clinical validation, including partnerships with:

• The NHS (in the UK)
• Penn Medicine (in the United States)
• EIT Digital (across Europe)

Spex Capital Founder: From Investment Banking to HealthTech Innovation

Claudio D’Angelo, the founder and CEO of Spex Capital, brings a unique combination of financial expertise and healthcare sector experience to his role. His journey from investment banking to health technology investment reflects a deliberate pivot towards impact-driven investing in a sector he describes as both underserved and critically important.

D’Angelo spent the early part of his career in senior positions at major investment banks, including roles as Head of Sales in Equity Derivatives to Europe and the Middle East at BNP Paribas in London, and earlier positions at Lehman Brothers London. This institutional banking background provided him with deep financial expertise and a rigorous approach to investment analysis.

From 2009 to 2014, he served as the sole director of Gauss Investments Ltd, before co-founding Ryse Asset Management LLP in 2015, a digital health and medtech specialised venture capital firm that he managed until 2021. The experience at Ryse Asset Management provided crucial insights into the health technology ecosystem, particularly the funding gaps that prevent promising early-stage companies from scaling effectively.

D’Angelo holds a degree in Economics from Bologna University in Italy and completed an Executive Master’s programme in finance at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. He also sits on the Board of the Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Innovation Hub.

In explaining his motivation for founding Spex Capital, D’Angelo noted:

“I was looking to transition from public to private markets with a focus on impact verticals, and my strongest interest was in healthtech, specifically digital healthcare. I saw a clear opportunity for a specialised fund to focus exclusively on this growing, yet underserved, sector.”

The Spex Capital Investment Approach

Spex Capital has developed a distinctive investment methodology that combines financial rigour with deep healthcare sector expertise and an unparalleled distribution network for commercial and clinical validation.

Investment Focus and Criteria

The firm’s strategy is defined by specific criteria:

1. Stage: Focuses exclusively on early-stage companies, typically from seed through Series A and B rounds.
2. Investment Size: Typically invests between €500,000 and €2 million initially, with a commitment to follow on up to Series A (€5 million) and in some cases Series B rounds.
3. Sector Specialisation: Invests exclusively in digital health and medical technology solutions, including telemedicine, software, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital therapeutics.
4. Geographic Scope: Maintains a global investment mandate, actively seeking opportunities across North America, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe.

Due Diligence and Selection Process

Spex Capital relies on a multi-disciplinary team and a detailed due diligence process, leveraging medical, financial, and commercial expertise.

• The firm’s investment team includes professionals with backgrounds in medical practice, academia, finance, and healthcare operations.
• The partnership with MedCity (London’s life sciences cluster organisation) provides access to expert panels comprising clinicians, NHS administrators, and healthcare technology specialists for clinical validation.

Strategic Partnerships: The Power of Distribution

One of Spex Capital’s most significant competitive advantages is its network of strategic partnerships.

1. NHS Partnership via MedCity: Provides access to NHS clinical expertise, potential pilot sites for technology trials, and pathways to procurement within one of the world’s largest integrated healthcare systems (serving over 55 million people).
2. Penn Medicine Collaboration: Offers access to the US healthcare market, a large patient population for technology validation, exposure to US healthcare payers, and insights into regulatory requirements.
3. EIT Digital Partnership: Europe’s largest innovation ecosystem co-funded by the European Union, amplifying the firm’s deal flow and facilitating international expansion across Europe.
4. Broader Ecosystem Connections: Maintains relationships with embassies, chambers of commerce, trade bodies, accelerators, incubators, and hospitals across all continents.

Spex Capital Funding: Building the €100 Million Venture HealthTech Fund

In October 2025, Spex Capital announced a major milestone with the first €30 million commitment to its flagship Spex Venture HealthTech Fund, which has a total fundraising target of €100 million.

Fund Structure and Deployment Strategy

• The fund will invest globally in early-stage healthtech startups, from seed to Series A and B rounds, with individual investments of up to €5 million.
• It is designed to address a critical scale-up capital gap for healthtech companies in Europe.
• The strategy focuses on supporting companies through multiple funding rounds, with plans to eventually launch a continuation fund to provide sustained follow-on capital.

Market Context and Timing

The fund launch coincides with a robust period for European healthtech investment, which surpassed €4 billion in early 2025.

• The UK healthtech sector specifically showed strong performance, with healthcare startups valued at £32 billion at the end of 2024.
• Globally, the healthtech market is forecast to more than triple to $3.1 trillion between 2023 and 2033, driven by AI, ageing populations, and digital health adoption.

Competitive Landscape

The €100 million Venture HealthTech Fund sits among the largest of the current European initiatives focused on early-stage health technology. Other funds expanding in the sector in 2025 include:

1. Meridian Health Ventures: Launched a €44.7 million transatlantic fund.
2. Capricorn Partners: Announced a €51 million first close for its Health-Tech Fund II.
3. M2care: Secured €26 million to accelerate venture studio activity in France.

Leadership Expansion: Lord Markham Joins as Chairman

Concurrent with the fund’s first close, Spex Capital revealed a significant leadership appointment: Lord Markham, former UK Health Minister, joined the firm as Chairman of the Board.

• Lord Markham (Nick Markham) served as a UK Health Minister (2022–2024) responsible for technology, innovation, AI, and commercial activities in the NHS.
• He co-founded Cignpost, a healthtech business that achieved remarkable growth from €0 to €350 million in turnover in just one year.
• His previous roles include ITV Strategy Director and CFO of Laura Ashley.
• The firm also appointed Brent Stackhouse as Senior Partner, bringing US health system and investor base experience, including as head of the Mount Sinai Venture arm.

Spex Capital Valuation and Growth Metrics

The firm’s growth trajectory and assets under management provide insight into its expansion:

• Since launching in 2021, the portfolio has grown from six to seven companies to approximately 18 companies.
• The team has expanded from 12 people to between 11 and 50 employees.
• The €100 million fund, with €30 million committed, substantially increases the firm’s assets under management.

Portfolio and Investment Activity

Spex Capital’s portfolio demonstrates several consistent themes:

• Operational Efficiency: Log my Care (care home management software), MediShout (equipment issues reporting).
• Diagnostics/AI: Skin Analytics (AI-powered skin analysis).
• Care Delivery: Knokcare (digital health platform), Krew (educational and training services).
• Chronic Disease Management: Multiple investments addressing Parkinson’s Disease, including Walk With Path Limited, Charco, Strolll, GyroGear, and Manus Neurodynamica.

Market Positioning and Investment Thesis

Spex Capital’s investment thesis rests on several key pillars:

• Addressing the Scale-Up Gap: Explicitly targets the “critical scale-up capital gap” in Europe by committing to follow-on investments through Series A and B.
• Validation as Competitive Advantage: Its “true strength” is the unparalleled power of its distribution network (NHS, Penn Medicine, EIT Digital) to provide essential commercial and clinical validation.
• Global Yet Specialised Approach: Combines deep healthcare sector expertise with a global scope, allowing the firm to identify best-in-class solutions worldwide.
• Active Partnership Model: Positions itself as an active partner, leveraging its network to facilitate international expansion, strategic partnerships, and follow-on funding.

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The Road Ahead: Growth Strategy and Future Plans

Spex Capital’s strategic priorities for the future include:

1. Fund Deployment and Portfolio Expansion: Completing the €100 million fundraising target and deploying capital into approximately 15 to 25 total portfolio companies from the full fund.
2. Geographic Expansion: Deepening its presence in the United States through the Penn Medicine partnership and the appointment of Brent Stackhouse.
3. Follow-On Investment and Portfolio Maturation: Balancing new investments with follow-on investments in successful companies, with plans for an eventual continuation fund.
4. Sector Focus Areas: Continued interest in AI and machine learning applications, operational efficiency tools, chronic disease management technologies, and telemedicine.

Conclusion: Bridging Innovation and Healthcare Delivery

Spex Capital represents a maturing approach to healthtech venture capital, one that recognises that capital alone is insufficient to drive healthcare innovation. By combining selective investment with unparalleled access to major healthcare systems for validation and commercialisation support, the firm addresses a critical gap in the healthtech funding landscape.

The appointment of Lord Markham as Chairman, the successful first close of the €100 million Venture HealthTech Fund, and the expansion of strategic partnerships position Spex Capital as an increasingly significant player in European healthtech investment. For founders developing digital health and medical technology solutions, Spex offers not just funding but a credible pathway to commercialisation across NHS, US, and European healthcare systems.

D’Angelo’s vision of “accelerating the healthcare digital revolution” is grounded in a pragmatic understanding that innovation must be validated, commercialised, and integrated into existing healthcare delivery systems to achieve real impact. Early indicators suggest the firm is well-positioned to achieve both financial success and meaningful healthcare impact.