Impress Just Landed $43M from the EIB—Here's Why It Matters

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-27

Impress, the Spanish digital orthodontics network, just signed a €40 million venture debt deal with the European Investment Bank. That's about $43 million at current exchange rates. The money will fuel its AI platform and speed up expansion across Europe. This isn't Impress's first big raise. In 2024, the company announced over €110 million ($119 million) in financing, which helped it expand after acquiring DrSmile. Now, with the EIB's backing, Impress is positioning itself for a new phase of growth. ### Why the EIB Backing Matters Vladimir Lupenko, co-founder and CEO of Impress, puts it simply: "For years, patients have had to choose between expensive orthodontics with constant clinic visits, or at-home solutions without adequate medical follow-up. At Impress, we were born to close that gap." Their AI engine, trained on a global database of 500,000 patients, multiplies clinic efficiency tenfold and cuts in-person visits by 80%. That's a big deal for accessibility. Lupenko adds that the EIB's support "represents a seal of guarantee in the HealthTech ecosystem in Europe" and confirms their vision. It also gives them a stronger position to consolidate their model across the region. ### The Bigger Picture: A HealthTech Wave Impress's deal comes amid a flurry of European investments in digital dentistry and AI-enabled healthcare in 2026. Here's a quick rundown: - **DentalMonitoring** (Paris) secured €84 million ($90 million) to expand its AI-powered orthodontic monitoring platform. - **Lupin Dental** (Montpellier) raised €15 million ($16 million) for dental robotics. - **Relu** (Belgium) attracted €1.51 million ($1.6 million) for AI-powered dental workflows. - **Tucuvi** (Madrid) raised €17 million ($18 million) for its voice-AI healthcare platform. - **Health Force** (Barcelona) secured €4.2 million ($4.5 million) for hospital automation. Together with Impress's €40 million ($43 million) venture debt loan, these announcements represent roughly €161.7 million ($173 million) in reported financing, spanning equity and debt. ### A Decade of Growth and Innovation Founded in Barcelona in 2019 by Vladimir Lupenko, Diliara Lupenko, and Khaled Kasem, Impress combines in-person care at specialized clinics with continuous monitoring through its AI-powered platform. The company operates in 10 countries across Europe and the United States, with over 110 clinics and 500,000 patients treated globally. In Spain alone, it has 22 clinics. The new investment will drive development of Impress's proprietary platform, an AI-based healthcare ecosystem designed to unify patient treatment from start to finish. The solution spans from in-clinic 3D intraoral scans—which deliver more accurate tooth-movement predictions than traditional molds—to AI-assisted treatment planning and ongoing patient tracking via Impress's mobile app. One recent innovation is the industry's first autonomous smile simulator, which uses AI to recreate the "before and after" of treatment in just three seconds, with no manual intervention needed. ### What's Next for Impress? Having solidified its position in Southern Europe—with Spain, Portugal, and Italy as its main markets—Impress is now preparing a new phase of international expansion focused on Northern Europe. The strategy will target Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, where the company has operated since 2023. This growth plan is backed by strong performance. As Lupenko told us, "The backing of the EIB confirms our vision and places us in an advantageous position to consolidate our model in the region." With the EIB's support, Impress is well-positioned to lead the charge in digital orthodontics across Europe.