machineMD
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersBern, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What machineMD does
machineMD AG is a Swiss medical device company founded in 2019 as a spin-off of Inselspital (University Hospital of Bern). Its core product, neos, is a CE-marked Class IIa (EU) and FDA-registered Class I VR-based neuro-ophthalmic diagnostic device, often described as the 'world's first neurophthalmoscope.' neos integrates a Varjo Aero VR headset with 200Hz infrared eye tracking, gamified visual stimuli, and AI-driven analysis to perform eight automated neuro-ophthalmic examinations (saccades, smooth pursuit, convergence, pupillometry, visual fields) in approximately 10 minutes, replacing conventional 45-minute manual examinations with objective, quantitative oculomotor and pupillary biomarkers. Clinical evidence base is strong: published peer-reviewed research (including a Brain Communications review), demonstrated test-retest reliability ICC > 0.99, and RAPD detection performance non-inferior to senior neuro-ophthalmologists, with 400+ examinations completed at Ruhr-University Bochum across MS, myasthenia gravis, and Huntington's disease cohorts.
The company monetizes neos through three revenue streams: hardware sales to hospitals, ophthalmology clinics, and research institutions; distribution and platform integration through a strategic partnership with Topcon Healthcare (lead investor in March 2025 pre-Series A) embedding neos into the Harmony digital health platform; and clinical research services providing oculometric endpoints for CNS clinical trials with pharma and biotech customers. The company employs 11-50 people, is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, and operates a US subsidiary in Cambridge, MA. Customers include ebovis (Zurich ophthalmology practice running the first fully automated apparative eye examination workflow), Inselspital, University Hospital Zurich, Ruhr-University Bochum, and Berner Augenklinik. Sales motion is enterprise-led, targeting neurologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, and ophthalmologists, with a distributed-care model where non-specialists perform examinations and specialists interpret results remotely.
The business is at an early commercial stage, having only obtained EU-MDR Class IIa certification in October 2024 and FDA Class I registration shortly thereafter, with a CHF 3.2M oversubscribed seed round (September 2022, led by Guido Fluri Foundation) and a Topcon-led pre-Series A round (March 2025). The company holds ISO 13485:2021 certification, has won multiple innovation awards (Innovation World Cup 2023, VIVE XR Healthcare Challenge 2024), and participates in major Swiss and EU research consortia including the CHF 9.6M SwissBrAInHealth dementia flagship initiative.
machineMD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- machineMD
- Legal name
- machineMD AG
- Website
- https://machinemd.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
machineMD industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Neuro-ophthalmic diagnostic medical devices
- NAICS
- Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)
- SIC
- Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables) (HLAHACAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Neuro-Ophthalmology (HLAKAKAH)
Keywords
Where machineMD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bern
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
machineMD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Medical Device Sales: Sales of the neos medical device system to hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers for neuro-ophthalmic diagnostics. neos is CE-marked Class IIa (EU) and FDA-registered Class I (USA).
- Partnership/Distribution: Strategic integration with Topcon Healthcare's Harmony platform for distribution through their ocular and neurological diagnostics ecosystem.
- Clinical Research Services: Providing oculometric assessments for CNS clinical trials and research partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies for digital biomarker development.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
machineMD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
machineMD develops and sells "neos", a CE-marked Class IIa (EU) and FDA-registered Class I (USA) medical device described as the world's first neurophthalmoscope. neos is a VR-based system that combines a VR headset, integrated eye tracking, artificial intelligence, and gamified visual stimuli to perform eight fully automated neuro-ophthalmic examinations within 10 minutes, producing quantitative measurements of eye movements (saccades, smooth pursuit, convergence), pupillary responses, and visual fields for the early diagnosis of neurological disorders.
Product overview
machineMD offers a single unified product: neos (the NeurOphthalmoscope), a CE-marked Class IIa and FDA-registered Class I medical device. neos is a VR-based diagnostic system that performs eight fully automated neuro-ophthalmic examinations within 10 minutes, measuring eye movements (saccades, smooth pursuit, convergence), pupillary responses, and visual fields. The system is designed to bring the diagnostic quality of a specialist to primary and secondary care settings, with quantitative outputs for neurological disorder detection and monitoring.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- neos: The world's first neurophthalmoscope - a non-invasive medical device for fast, automated, and quantitative assessment of eye movements, pupils, and visual fields for neuro-ophthalmic diagnostics
Products and services
- neos (Neurophthalmoscope) A non-invasive medical device that uses VR-based oculography and pupillometry to perform fast, automated, and quantitative assessment of eye movements, pupils, and visual fields. It is targeted at neurologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, and emergency medicine departments for the early detection and monitoring of neurological disorders including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, stroke, and brain tumors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Examination time reduced from 45 minutes to 10 minutes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use machineMD
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
machineMD technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
machineMD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SwissBrAInHealth InitiativecoremachineMD is implementation partner in the SwissBrAInHealth Flagship Initiative, a 5-year dementia-focused project with CHF 9.6 million total funding from Innosuisse. machineMD provides oculomic data from neos assessments to the AI-augmented system for dementia risk assessment.
- FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern SwitzerlandminorInnoCheque-funded feasibility study to develop a digital diagnostic test for Persistent Postular Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) using VR headset. Prof. Dr. Giovanni Bertolini provides expertise in visuo-vestibular field research.
- MATTERminorSelected for Advancing Brain Health Innovation Challenge cohort 2025, a healthcare incubator program addressing barriers to care for people with rare neurological diseases. Supported by Lundbeck US Charitable Fund.
- eboviscoreebovis in Zurich is world's first ophthalmology practice offering standardized complete apparative eye examination using neos. Medical assistants or opticians perform examinations with data evaluated remotely by ophthalmologists Dr. Mathias Abegg and Dr. Sven Hirsch-Hoffmann.
- gaitQcoreJoint award of million-dollar research grant from InnovateUK and Innosuisse for 18-month project monitoring movement and eye movement data from 100 Parkinson's patients in UK and Switzerland. Data collected at University of Exeter and University Hospital Zurich.
- Ruhr-University BochumcoreUniversity Neurology Clinic at Katholisches Klinikum, Ruhr-University Bochum conducts research with machineMD technology. PD Dr. Anke Salmen's team has conducted over 400 examinations on MS, myasthenia gravis, and Huntington's disease patients.
- VarjocorePartnership with Varjo for integration of their Aero VR headset with industry-leading eye tracking technology into the neos diagnostic device. Varjo's proprietary eye tracking operates at 200Hz with infrared illumination for precise measurements even with eyeglasses.
- EvoleenminorStrategic partnership announced with Swiss digital health expert Evoleen for market collaboration.
- Inselspital (University Hospital of Bern)coremachineMD is a spin-off of Inselspital. The hospital serves as clinical research partner for device validation, clinical studies, and product development. Prof. Mathias Abegg, Medical Director, co-founded the company based on research at Inselspital.
- CSEM (Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique)coreSwiss technology organization providing image processing and algorithmic development expertise for the diagnostic system. Partner in the Innosuisse project for neos development, contributing +35 years of Deep Tech development experience.
- Helbling Technik Bern AGcoreEngineering partner in the Innosuisse project providing software engineering expertise for neos development.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
machineMD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Heidelberg Engineering: Heidelberg Engineering is a global leader in OCT and ophthalmic imaging diagnostics used in neuro-ophthalmology. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same hospital ophthalmology and neurology diagnostic budgets.
- Topcon Healthcare: Topcon Healthcare is a global incumbent in robotic diagnostics, retinal imaging, and ocular health digital platforms (Harmony). As machineMD's lead pre-Series A investor and distribution partner, it is a broad incumbent comparator and channel partner in ophthalmic diagnostics.
- Natus Medical: Natus Medical (now part of Natus Neuro) supplies neurodiagnostic equipment (EEG, EMG, NCS, evoked potentials) to neurology and critical care. It is a broad incumbent in clinical neurodiagnostic hardware that machineMD's VR-based device partially overlaps with and could displace.
- Tobii: Tobii is a global leader in eye-tracking technology with healthcare and research offerings (Tobii Pro). It is a broad incumbent supplying the underlying eye-tracking technology stack that machineMD (and competitors) build clinical applications on top of.
- Carl Zeiss Meditec: Carl Zeiss Meditec is a global leader in ophthalmic diagnostic and surgical devices. It is a broad incumbent whose diagnostic portfolio overlaps with machineMD's neuro-ophthalmic screening ambitions in hospital ophthalmology.
Regional players
- Haag-Streit: Haag-Streit is a long-established Swiss/German manufacturer of ophthalmic diagnostic devices (slit lamps, perimeters, imaging). It is a regional incumbent comparable in geo (DACH/EMEA) and clinical end-user base (hospital ophthalmology) to machineMD's target customers.
Direct peers
- RightEye: RightEye builds eye-tracking-based diagnostic systems that capture oculomotor biomarkers for neurological and developmental conditions (concussion, Parkinson's, reading disorders). It is a direct competitor in objective, automated eye-movement-based neuro-assessment delivered to clinicians.
- SyncThink: SyncThink uses VR-based eye-tracking (originally the EYE-SYNC platform out of Stanford) to assess oculomotor and vestibular function for concussion and neurological performance. It is a direct competitor in VR-headset-based neurodiagnostics.
- Oculogica: Oculogica developed the EyeBOX, an FDA-cleared, non-invasive, eye-tracking-based diagnostic for concussion and brain injury. It is a direct competitor in objective, eye-movement-based neurological assessment for brain disorders.
- NeurOptics: NeurOptics is a leading pupillometry device maker (NPi-300) used in neurology, critical care, and ophthalmology for quantitative pupil assessment. It is a direct competitor in the automated pupillometry segment that machineMD's neos also targets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
machineMD social profiles
Digital presencemachineMD compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
machineMD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
machineMD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
machineMD subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
machineMD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
machineMD M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about machineMD
What does machineMD do?
machineMD develops and sells "neos", a CE-marked Class IIa (EU) and FDA-registered Class I (USA) medical device described as the world's first neurophthalmoscope. neos is a VR-based system that combines a VR headset, integrated eye tracking, artificial intelligence, and gamified visual stimuli to perform eight fully automated neuro-ophthalmic examinations within 10 minutes, producing quantitative measurements of eye movements (saccades, smooth pursuit, convergence), pupillary responses, and visual fields for the early diagnosis of neurological disorders.
Is machineMD a public or private company?
machineMD is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was machineMD founded?
machineMD was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is machineMD based?
machineMD is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does machineMD make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Medical Device Sales are the primary driver. The others are partnership/Distribution and clinical Research Services.
Who are machineMD's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Heidelberg Engineering, Topcon Healthcare, Natus Medical, Tobii and Carl Zeiss Meditec. Haag-Streit is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are RightEye, SyncThink, Oculogica and NeurOptics.
Does machineMD have an API?
No public API is recorded for machineMD.
What industry is machineMD in?
machineMD's product category is Neuro-ophthalmic diagnostic medical devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAHACAE, Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables), with a secondary code of HLAKAKAH, Neuro-Ophthalmology. Its NAICS code is 334510 and its SIC code is 3845.