WISE Secures €30 Million in Oversubscribed Series D Funding to Advance Heron® Stretchable Directional Lead for First-in-Human Trials

The €30 million Series D financing round completed by WISE is“Government-led Funds + Bank Capital + Industrial Capital”Characteristics of Deep Integration:

• Equity-Debt Combination:This round of financing comprises a diversified mix of equity and venture debt. Notably, the European Investment Bank provided WISE with substantial venture debt financing. This structure not only secured low-cost, long-term capital for expansion but also maximized the protection of the founding team’s and existing shareholders’ equity from excessive dilution.

• Sovereign Wealth Fund Support:This round of financing was led by the Italian national innovation fund ENEA as a strategic investor, with participation from new investor Wallaby S.p.A. and existing shareholders. Meanwhile, Laura Iris Ferro, founder of the Nasdaq-listed biotechnology company Gentium, announced her appointment as Chairperson of WISE, further strengthening its commercialization governance team.

Brain-computer interfaces and neuromodulation are currently the golden track, widely used in the treatment of neurological disorders and refractory pain. However, traditional implanted leads have long been constrained by the clinical trade-off of "having your cake and eating it too":

• Although cylindrical leads can be inserted via minimally invasive puncture, they are highly prone to displacement and provide ambiguous stimulation directionality;

• Although surgical paddle leads offer precision and stability, they require implantation via major laminectomy surgery, resulting in significant trauma.

Most traditional electrodes are fabricated using a conventional process in which rigid metal sheets are encased in thick silicone. When in contact with the soft spinal cord tissue, they are highly prone to causing tissue inflammation, scarring, or micro-injuries due to “mechanical stiffness mismatch.”

WISE possesses innovativeSupersonic Cluster Beam Deposition Technology, precisely “embedding” highly conductive metal nanoparticles in the form of a supersonic jet into an ultra-thin elastomer film only tens of micrometers thick, thereby creating a material that combines bothStretchable Electronic Circuits with High Conductivity and Ultra-High Flexibility。

This technology has achieved three major breakthroughs in the clinical application of neuromodulation:

• Minimally Invasive Puncture, Say Goodbye to Major Surgery:The operator can smoothly insert it into the epidural space using only a standard puncture needle, completely avoiding the pain and risk of complications associated with surgical laminectomy.

• Precision Targeting, Intelligent Closed-Loop:Leveraging zonal control via flexible circuits, it overcomes the drawback of omnidirectional signal dispersion associated with traditional penetrating electrodes, enabling efficient targeted stimulation. Furthermore, its superior neural signal sensing capability allows for real-time monitoring of neural feedback, laying the hardware foundation for “closed-loop precise modulation” in the management of chronic pain.

• Flexible Fit, Prevents Displacement:Thanks to its excellent material elasticity, the Heron® implant can closely adhere to surrounding tissues after implantation and deform in sync with daily human activities, fundamentally resolving the industry-wide issue of traditional leads being prone to displacement.

The Heron® lead, a leading-edge technology, was not WISE’s first product. WISE’s first commercialized product based on this technology platform—the WISE Cortical Strip (WCS®)—is the world’s first stretchable intraoperative cortical electrode to receive both EU MDR certification and US FDA approval for market release.

• Clinical Application: Specifically designed for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) during brain tumor and epilepsy surgeries.

• Competitive Advantage: Due to its ultra-thin and elastic nature, the device does not slip when applied by the surgeon onto the patient’s cortical surface, enabling highly sensitive capture of electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. This assists surgeons in precisely resecting lesions while fully preserving core neurological functions such as language and motor control. Currently, WCS® is commercially available on a routine basis in the United States, Europe, and Australia, contributing sustained cash flow and clinical reputation to the company.