MILabs, a TU Delft spin-off that develops ground breaking imaging devices, is acquired by Rigaku Corporation. Founded in 2006, MILabs provides pre-clinical imaging systems and equipment with higher efficiency and accuracy than conventional alternatives. MILabs has developed a unique system that enables high performance nuclear medicine imaging. The innovative technique contributes to the quest for new therapies and new insights into disease biology in research labs around the world.
The TU Delft invested in MILabs via Delft Enterprises. “TU Delft not only conducts ground-breaking research, but wants to make an impact for a better society as well. That is why we support the development of a spin-off company like MILabs, which has the potential to impact the lives of patients through better imaging. We congratulate Professor Beekman with the acquisition of MILabs by Rigaku Corporation and look forward to continuing our research cooperation,” says Paul Althuis, director of Delft Enterprises, the investment arm of TU Delft
MILabs emerged from the academic-entrepreneurial ecosystems of Delft and Utrecht, spinning out of TU Delft and University Medical Center Utrecht. MILabs attracted first venture capital investment from Thuja Capital Healthcare Fund II and Value Creation Capital in 2016. The investment was largely based on MILabs’ commercial potential and the promise its best-in-class imaging technology holds for the development of new therapies by elucidating fundamental disease biology. The company’s successful growth and acquisition by Rigaku provides an outstanding example of academic entrepreneurship, and underscores the potential and the strength of the European innovation landscape.
