Ontario Advancing Innovation in the Life Sciences: Vena Medical Secures Funding to Reshore AI-Powered Medical Device Manufacturing
February 25, 2026
Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) portfolio company Vena Medical has been selected to receive funding through the Ontario Government's Life Sciences Scale-Up Fund (LSSUF) — a milestone that marks a significant step forward for both the company and the province's growing life sciences sector.
Founded in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, Vena Medical develops intravascular imaging devices that support physicians during stroke interventions and real-time diagnostic imaging. Their flagship product, an AI-powered micro-camera, offers clinicians enhanced visualization during critical neurovascular procedures — bringing cutting-edge technology directly to the point of patient care.
With a total investment of $4.5 million, including nearly $1.5 million in LSSUF support, the company will establish a new cleanroom facility in Kitchener. The project reshores production of the micro-camera to Ontario, supports 9 existing positions, and creates 13 new high-skilled jobs in the region.
For Phillip Cooper, Co-founder and COO of Vena Medical, this investment is the culmination of years of precision engineering and a clear-eyed vision for what comes next:
"Our team has engineered a highly complex, microscopic medical device, and now we have the state-of-the-art cleanroom and manufacturing infrastructure to build it at scale. With the backing of the LSSUF, we are scaling our manufacturing right here in Kitchener. We are ready to take this Kitchener-Waterloo-born innovation to the rest of the world."
The LSSUF is designed to help small and medium-sized companies commercialize health innovations and build domestic production capacity. By investing in homegrown ventures like Vena Medical, the Ontario government is reinforcing the province's leadership in life sciences and advancing next-generation technologies across the health-care supply chain.
Ontario Brain Institute is proud to celebrate this milestone with Vena Medical — a company whose journey from research innovation to global-scale manufacturing reflects the very best of what Ontario's life sciences ecosystem can achieve.
Read the full announcement: News Release - Ontario Advancing Innovation in the Life Sciences