International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised on an investment worth more than £4 million in a Bristol-based designer, manufacturer and supplier of next-generation bionic limbs.
The investment comes from Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund (a collaboration between the Nottingham-headquartered Foresight Group and Williams Advanced Engineering) and Downing Ventures.
It forms part of a £4.66 million growth round to scale the business and has been made alongside commitments
Based at the University of the West of England, Open Bionics is an award-winning designer, manufacturer and supplier of bionic limbs with ambitions to become a market leader in a range of bespoke prostheses and assistive technologies and a global supplier of prosthetic and orthotic products and services.
The company was founded four years ago by chief executive Joel Gibbard and chief operating officer Samantha Payne. Its first commercial product, the Hero Arm, uses 3D printing and simplified mechanical systems and has commercial licences with Disney, Marvel and Pixar.
The Osborne Clarke team which advised on the transaction was led by corporate partner Simon Jones and supported by associate Isaac Paine.
The firm’s market-leading, European-wide venture capital practice works closely with start-ups, global market leaders, angel investors and institutional VC/growth capital investors on funding rounds, follow-on rounds, venture debt facilities, IPOs, trade sales and buy and build projects.