STARTUP CASE STUDIES

Fixing a Broken Heart Valve Without Opening the Chest

Company
CroíValve
Sector
Health & Bio
Country
Ireland
Year invested
2019

fund's initial seed investment, 2019

Atlantic Bridge's total investment across all rounds

total capital raised to date

jobs created since investment, as of 2026

Backed By

CroíValve is a Dublin-based medical device company on a mission to help patients with tricuspid regurgitation (TR), a common heart disease that is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Its minimally invasive DUO Adapt System is tailored to each patient and preserves the native anatomy: a coaptation valve fills the leak and adapts to varying anatomy, while an adaptable anchor system supports right heart remodelling. Because DUO works in big and small hearts, whatever the coaptation gap or annulus size, it can treat a broad range of patients, and its short learning curve lets more physicians offer it. The company is a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin.

A DISEASE MOST PATIENTS NEVER GET TREATED FOR

Tricuspid regurgitation is common, but historically it has had few good treatment options. Many patients are poor candidates for open heart surgery, and the condition is often left to progress untreated. CroíValve's device is delivered percutaneously, without open surgery, and is designed to leave the right heart chamber and the native valve apparatus untouched.

THE INVESTMENT

Atlantic Bridge made its first investment in CroíValve in 2019 at seed, contributing €0.7 million, and has since invested €2.3 million in total across rounds. Notable co-investors across later rounds include EIC, Enterprise Ireland, BGF, HBAN MedTech, Ascentifi, IAG Capital and Elkstone. CroíValve has raised €48 million in total to date.

FROM FIRST-IN-HUMAN DATA TO A GROWING US TRIAL

CroíValve raised an €8 million Series A in February 2022 to run a European feasibility study, TANDEM I, which showed sustained reductions in TR and real improvements in patients' quality of life. That evidence supported a $16 million Series B in August 2024 to fund TANDEM II, an FDA-approved early feasibility study in the US. In June 2026, the company closed a $20 million Series B expansion, alongside $7 million in EIC and Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund grant financing, bringing total Series B and grant funding to $43 million. The new capital expands TANDEM II beyond the 15 patients already treated to additional US and EU sites.

“Healthcare innovation matters most when it helps address challenges that affect millions of people. CroíValve is developing a novel approach to treating a serious heart condition that remains difficult to manage with existing therapies, particularly for patients who aren’t suitable candidates for invasive surgery. This is precisely the kind of breakthrough innovation the EIC supports: technologies with the potential to improve quality of life, strengthen Europe’s medical technology leadership and deliver meaningful societal impact.”

Hermann Hauser, Board Member of the EIC Fund

THE TEAM BEHIND

CroíValve was co-founded by Dr. Lucy O'Keeffe (Co-founder & CEO), Dr. Martin Quinn (Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer), Prof. Bruce Murphy (Co-founder), and Dr. Paul Heneghan (Co-founder).