Impress Lands $43M EIB Loan to Scale AI Orthodontics Across Europe

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-27

Impress, the Spanish digital orthodontics network, just secured a $43 million venture debt loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). That's a big deal for the company—and for the broader European healthtech scene. The loan will fuel investments in its AI platform and accelerate expansion across Europe. This funding follows Impress's over $118 million financing round in 2024, which helped drive European growth after acquiring DrSmile. So clearly, investors see something special here. ### Why Impress Stands Out For years, patients have faced a tough choice: expensive traditional orthodontics with constant clinic visits, or at-home solutions with little medical oversight. Impress set out 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 means quality care becomes more accessible—and more affordable. "The backing of the EIB represents a seal of guarantee in the HealthTech ecosystem in Europe," says Vladimir Lupenko, co-founder and CEO of Impress. "It confirms our vision and places us in an advantageous position to consolidate our model in the region." ### A Wave of Healthtech Investment Impress's loan comes amid a surge of European investments in digital dentistry and AI-enabled healthcare in 2026. In France, DentalMonitoring raised $90 million for its AI-powered orthodontic monitoring platform, while Lupin Dental secured $16 million for dental robotics. Belgium's Relu attracted $1.6 million for AI-powered dental workflows. In Spain, Tucuvi raised $18 million for its voice-AI healthcare platform, and Health Force secured $4.5 million for hospital automation. Combined with Impress's loan, these deals represent approximately $173 million in reported financing—a clear sign that investors are betting big on healthtech innovation. ### The Technology Behind the Smile 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, there are 22 clinics. The new investment will drive development of Impress's proprietary platform—a comprehensive AI-based healthcare ecosystem designed to unify patient treatment from start to finish. It 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 a mobile app. Recent innovations include the industry's first autonomous smile simulator, which recreates the "before and after" of treatment in just three seconds—no manual intervention needed. ### What's Next for Impress? Having consolidated its position in Southern Europe—with Spain, Portugal, and Italy as key 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. With strong performance backing this growth plan, Impress is well-positioned to make a mark in these new markets. For anyone following European startup incorporation and healthtech trends, Impress's journey is one to watch. It shows how AI can transform traditional industries and how strategic financing can accelerate that transformation.