This Amsterdam Startup Just Raised $1.4M to Help the Blind See Again

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-18

Imagine seeing the world as a constellation of stars. That's the reality Phosphoenix is building for people with profound blindness. The Amsterdam-based MedTech startup just closed a €1.3 million ($1.4 million) financing round to push its neuroprosthetic system toward first-in-human clinical trials. ### The Investment and What It Means The round saw continued backing from existing investors like TTT Medtech Fund (managed by 819 Capital), FIRST Fund (managed by BioGeneration Ventures), and Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland. New investor ROM InWest also joined the table. This mix of support signals strong confidence in Phosphoenix's approach. Hans Brons, CEO of Phosphoenix, put it simply: "This financing represents an important step towards bringing our technology into the clinic. The continued support of our existing investors, together with the commitment of ROM InWest, provides strong validation of the progress we have made and enables us to advance our first-in-human preparations while building towards our Series A financing. Our ultimate goal is to restore meaningful functional vision to people living with profound blindness." ### How the Technology Works Phosphoenix, founded in 2019 by Prof. Pieter Roelfsema, Prof. Xing Chen, and Dr. Bert Monna, is a spin-off from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The company is developing a prosthesis that stimulates nerve cells in the brain regions responsible for visual perception. Blindness can strip away autonomy, mobility, and quality of life. For most people with retinal or optic nerve damage, there are no effective treatments to restore functional vision. Phosphoenix aims to change that by directly stimulating the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a key relay center in the brain's visual pathway. At the heart of their system is the Fountain Probe, a proprietary high-density neural interface with more than 1,000 microelectrodes. It's designed to bypass damage to the retina or optic nerve by delivering electrical stimulation directly to the brain. The probe is implanted in the LGN using stereotactic neurosurgical techniques, building on established approaches used in deep brain stimulation. But how does it actually let someone see? The user wears a pair of glasses equipped with a camera that sends video to a pocket processor. Advanced AI techniques convert that footage into electrical stimulation instructions in real time. The brain implant then applies tiny electrical pulses to the visual system, creating artificially generated percepts—dots of light called "phosphenes." Multiple phosphenes together form an interpretable image, like a constellation of stars in the night sky. ### What's Next for Phosphoenix? Preclinical studies have already shown neural and behavioral responses consistent with electrically induced visual percepts. Now, Phosphoenix is moving toward its first-in-human clinical study, planned in collaboration with Amsterdam UMC. Sara Schaafsma, senior investment manager at ROM InWest, shared her enthusiasm: "Phosphoenix is developing a potentially life-changing technology for people living with profound blindness. We are impressed by the combination of scientific excellence, strong clinical relevance, and the team's progress towards clinical validation. With its roots in Amsterdam through the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Phosphoenix is also an excellent example of how scientific innovation from our region can translate into societal impact." This funding round isn't just about money—it's a vote of confidence in a future where profound blindness no longer means a life without sight. And that's something worth watching.