Investor duo launch new healthtech VC firm

Digital health investors David Buller and Laurent van Lerberghe have announced the launch of KELES. This new venture capital firm will focus on making digital health growth investments across Europe, with the aim of bridging the gap between startup innovation, international scaling and global impact.

KELES will be investing in European growth-stage companies with demonstrated profitability and approaching a scale-up inflection point. The fund’s target size is €250m, and investment tickets will range from €8M-€30M.

The firm’s two managing partners are David Buller, a founding partner of leading UK digital health fund Ascension Life Fund and exited healthtech entrepreneur, and Laurent van Lerberghe, pharma C-suite executive turned investor in digital health*. *Their strong investment returns, business-building track records and extensive international networks position KELES to access unique dealflow, identify world-class innovation and deliver strong returns in a global market.

The KELES team, who have spent the past year testing and validating their novel investment thesis with European investors and entrepreneurs, will have bases in Paris, London, Brussels and Luxembourg. The fund KELES S.C.Sp., SICAV - RAIF has been established in Luxembourg. They are currently raising the fund and are on track for first close in Q1 of 2025.

Following its first close, KELES is set to back high-potential scale-ups that address some of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare and societies.

David Buller, managing partner of KELES, said: “worldwide, healthcare systems are under immense pressure due to ageing populations, staff shortages, an increasing burden of chronic diseases and increasing complexity of care. Now more than ever, new solutions are needed to ensure that systems and providers can deliver efficient, quality care to an ever-growing number of patients. I have spent decades on the frontline of technology-driven efforts and venture capital investment decisions to address these challenges, and it’s clear that we’ve reached an inflection point in the market. Now is the moment to strategically inject capital into the ecosystem to unlock urgently needed-growth.” *

The digital health sector presents unparalleled opportunities for social impact and value creation, thanks to large pharma and healthcare needs, diverse payors, both global and regional scale opportunities, and a variety of exit options.

Whilst Europe is brimming with innovation, access to the capital needed for healthtech companies to scale at speed and succeed on a global scale remains limited. KELES is committed to bridging this gap, investing in proven solutions across research and development (R&D), diagnostics, and patient care.

“We will back the technologies that will leverage AI in the most useful ways, and those that accelerate drug discovery and deliver smarter diagnostics. We will look for technologies that set new standards of care, those that are tackling the root causes of inefficiencies in healthcare, and those that improve outcomes for patients and populations. We have extensively tested our investment thesis and are now ready to launch KELES and fill a significant funding gap in the European investment landscape.” adds Laurent van Lerberghe, founder and managing partner of KELES.

With Laurent’s background in pharma and techbio across Europe, US and Asia, coupled with David’s experience in venture investing with a track record of strong returns, the fund is in a unique position to provide capital and strategic guidance to help these companies succeed.

Through the Ascension Life Fund, David has invested in 17 digital health startups in the UK. The portfolio is delivering strong performance, and Aparito, one of its techbio investments, was recently acquired by Eli Lilly. David has also made a large number of deep tech and AI investments in the UK and US, with market leading returns, giving him an insider view on most promising and value creating technologies.

Laurent van Lerberghe, a former Chief Strategy Officer at Sanofi and Commercial VP at Abbott, has led launches, investments, and partnership deals for multiple ventures across many continents, developing deep expertise across healthcare, R&D, AI and digital health.

KELES will offer portfolio companies access to a vast network of global advisors, partners, and industry insiders from pharma, healthcare, venture capital, and startups, ensuring market access, product-market fit, and scalability.