Vensana Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Vensana Capital is a venture capital and growth equity firm dedicated exclusively to medical technology. Founded in 2019 by Managing Partners Justin Klein, MD, JD (formerly of NEA's medtech investing practice) and Kirk Nielsen (formerly of Versant Ventures' medtech practice), the firm believes medtech innovation is "one of the most powerful ways we can both improve the quality of healthcare and reduce its cost." Vensana positions itself as an active, engaged partner rather than a passive check-writer, and in October 2025 launched Vensana Innovation, a dedicated innovation engine that pairs capital with deep technical, clinical, and commercial expertise for portfolio companies.
Sector Focus
Vensana invests exclusively in medical technology, spanning:
- Medical devices (cardiac, vascular, spine, orthopedic, respiratory)
- Diagnostics and data science-oriented solutions
- Drug delivery platforms
- Digital health and healthcare software/interoperability
- Life science tools
- Tech-enabled healthcare services
Several recent portfolio bets lean into AI/data science applied to clinical workflows (Apella's ambient AI and computer vision for hospitals, Cleerly's AI-driven heart disease diagnostics, Volta Medical's AI software for cardiac ablation, Evident Vascular's AI-powered intravascular ultrasound).
Stage Focus
Vensana invests in both development-stage and commercial-stage medtech companies, functionally spanning Series A through growth-stage financings. The firm does not do pre-seed or seed-stage medtech; portfolio company rounds documented range from ~$20M Series A to $106M+ growth rounds.
Check Size
Vensana typically commits $15-50 million per company, funded out of a $425 million Fund III (closed April/January 2025). Total assets under management across three funds are approximately $1 billion.
Lead Tendency
Not explicitly confirmed in public materials. Vensana appears in syndicates alongside other healthcare-focused investors (e.g., Insight Partners on Cleerly, Gilde Healthcare on Vesper Medical, Amgen Ventures on GPB Scientific) rather than being consistently named as sole lead in press releases, though check sizes suggest a lead or co-lead role in many rounds.
Recent Activity
Fund III ($425M, closed January 2025) is actively deploying. Notable investments and events in the trailing 12 months include:
- July 2026: TYBR Health $30M Series A (B3 GEL System)
- February 2026: SpyGlass Pharma IPO priced (NASDAQ: SGP)
- January 2026: Ventaris Surgical $30M Series A; Apella $80M financing
- November 2025: Okami Medical $45M financing plus new CEO
- October 2025: Launched Vensana Innovation; added Thomas Tu, MD as Venture Partner
- August 2025: Luna Diabetes Series A
- June 2025: Added Maria Berkman as Partner and Ross Segan as Venture Partner; SpyGlass Pharma $75M Series D
Portfolio Highlights
Track record includes 22 FDA PMA/de novo 510(k) approvals, 61 U.S. commercial product launches, and 32 exits via IPO or M&A. Notable exits: CVRx (IPO, NASDAQ: CVRX), Inari Medical (IPO, NASDAQ: NARI), Senseonics (IPO, NYSE American: SENS), SpyGlass Pharma (IPO, NASDAQ: SGP), Artelon (acquired by Stryker), Relievant Medsystems (acquired by Boston Scientific), Personal Genome Diagnostics (acquired by Labcorp), Vesper Medical and Intact Vascular (both acquired by Philips), and Vertiflex and Cameron Health (both acquired by Boston Scientific).
Team
- Justin Klein, MD, JD – Co-founder and Managing Partner; previously led medtech investing at NEA
- Kirk Nielsen – Co-founder and Managing Partner; previously led medtech practice at Versant Ventures
- Steve Schwen – Partner and CFO; 25+ years finance/operations in VC and PE
- Amrinder Singh – Partner; previously Senior Investment Director at Medtronic Ventures
- Greg Banker – Partner; former Director of Strategic Market Development at Vertiflex
- Maria Berkman, MD – Partner (joined June 2025); previously Head of MedTech at Broadview Ventures
- Mike Kramer – Partner; former CFO/COO at multiple medical device companies
- Allison King – Investment Professional; former Investment Banking VP, Bank of America healthcare group
- Petra Gorombei, PhD – Investment Professional; former Clinical Evidence Director at ZOLL Medical
- Bill Hoffman – Venture Partner; former CEO of Inari Medical through its IPO
- Thomas Tu, MD – Venture Partner and CEO of Vensana Innovation (joined October 2025); former CMO of Inari Medical, practicing interventional cardiologist
Decision Process
Partnership-driven; the investment team includes multiple partners and investment professionals across two offices, consistent with a partnership decision model rather than solo-GP.
Founder Preferences
Vensana favors entrepreneurs building breakthrough medical technology who are seeking a strategic operating partner, not just capital — the firm's Vensana Innovation initiative and pattern of placing venture partners on portfolio company boards (e.g., Bill Hoffman at Okami Medical, Scott R. Ward at Evident Vascular) reflect a hands-on, board-engaged involvement style.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States (Minneapolis, MN headquarters; second office in McLean, VA / Washington, D.C. area), with selective international investments in European medtech (e.g., Volta Medical, based in France).