$36m · Series B · Healthtech · London, UK
Sava, a London-based developer of wearable biosensors, has raised a $36m Series B led by Ascensia Diabetes Care. Balderton Capital, Norrsken VC, Simplyhealth Ventures, JamJar Investments, Pentland Ventures and other investors participated. The company says the round takes total funding to $68m.
The financing comes with a separate commercialisation and distribution agreement appointing Ascensia as Sava's exclusive partner initially in Europe. Ascensia, part of PHC Group and the company behind CONTOUR blood glucose meters, says it will lead distribution after regulatory approval.
Sava's first product is a continuous glucose monitor built around microsensors that sit just beneath the skin. The company says the sensors are roughly ten times shorter than the filaments used in conventional continuous glucose monitors, reducing tissue disruption while still accessing interstitial fluid. The same platform is designed to measure other molecules over time, but glucose is its first regulated application.
In results announced in February 2026, Sava said an independent 46-participant study found that its system produced glucose readings over ten days with performance comparable to a commercial monitor. Those results are company-reported, and the device remains experimental. It has not received MHRA or FDA approval.
Distribution is being built before approval
The Series B will fund manufacturing scale-up, commercial readiness and preparation for a pivotal clinical study. Sava is targeting CE approval for non-adjunctive use, which would allow insulin-dosing decisions without routine fingerstick confirmation, and says it aims to commercialise within 18 to 24 months.
That sequence gives the round a clear execution test. Sava must move from a controlled clinical study to pivotal evidence, repeatable high-volume production and a product that regulators will clear for treatment decisions. A shorter sensor may improve the wearing experience, but accuracy, durability and consistency across manufactured units will determine whether it can replace rather than merely supplement existing testing.
Ascensia shortens the route to European customers
Ascensia's role goes beyond that of a lead investor. Its glucose-monitoring products are sold in more than 90 countries, and the company has established relationships with clinicians, distributors and payers. That gives Sava a route into retail and reimbursement channels without building every commercial function from scratch.
The partnership also aligns incentives before launch: Ascensia gains access to a potential successor to fingerstick testing, while Sava gains market knowledge and distribution capacity during product development. Yet the agreement remains conditional on regulatory success. The near-term value of the $36m therefore lies in linking three jobs that often develop separately in medical devices: clinical validation, manufacturing readiness and commercial access.
Beyond glucose, Sava wants to use the same platform to monitor additional biomarkers. That longer-term opportunity depends on first proving that one sensor can be produced reliably, approved for a demanding medical use and adopted by people with diabetes. The Series B finances that first commercial foundation rather than establishing that the broader platform has already arrived.
