Sava's $36M Raise: A Glucose Sensor That Could End Fingersticks

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-09

Sava Technologies just pulled in $36 million to change how millions of people with diabetes track their glucose. And they're teaming up with a global player to make it happen. ### The Big Raise Sava, a London-based HealthTech company, announced a €32.08 million ($36 million) Series B round today. The round was led by Ascensia, with backing from Balderton Capital, Norrsken VC, Simplyhealth Ventures, JamJar Investments, and Pentland Ventures. This brings Sava's total funding to $68 million. ### What Sava Does Sava is building a wearable biosensor that detects molecules just beneath your skin. It starts with glucose, but the platform is designed to track other biomarkers too. That means it could go way beyond diabetes care. Their microsensors are about ten times shorter than the filament in traditional continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). Shorter means less skin disruption, but it still reaches interstitial fluid. And because the tech was built for high-volume manufacturing from day one, it's made to scale. ### The Ascensia Partnership Ascensia, a subsidiary of PHC Holdings, is now Sava's commercialization and distribution partner, starting in Europe. Ascensia knows diabetes care inside and out. It was formed in 2016 when PHC acquired Bayer Diabetes Care. Today, it sells products in over 90 countries and has direct operations in 29 markets. > "Microsensor technology has the potential to transform the day-to-day monitoring experience for people with diabetes," said Peter Bodlund, CEO of Ascensia. "By bringing together Sava's innovative technology with Ascensia's deep diabetes expertise, we have an exciting opportunity to address important unmet needs in diabetes care." ### What's Next Sava is planning a pivotal clinical study this year and is targeting CE approval for non-adjunctive use. That means the device could be used to make insulin dosing decisions without routine fingerstick confirmation. In other words, it could replace blood glucose testing, not just supplement it. If approved, Ascensia will lead the commercial launch in Europe. Sava will use the new capital to fund manufacturing scale-up and commercial readiness. ### Why It Matters For decades, continuous monitoring has been stuck with the same legacy technology. Sava's co-founder and Co-CEO Renato Circi put it simply: "For decades, continuous monitoring has been held back by the same legacy technology. This is about to change. We're thrilled to be partnering with Ascensia, a global powerhouse in the space, to deliver, as a first step, something radically better to millions of people with diabetes." Sava emerged from stealth in June 2024 after five years of quiet development. Founded in 2019 by Imperial College London bioengineers, the company is now moving fast toward commercialization. With this funding and partnership, they're one step closer to making fingersticks a thing of the past.