Seer Medical saved by $40 million rescue deal from global investors, Breakthrough Victoria

Melbourne-based medtech startup Seer Medical has been revived from voluntary administration thanks to a $40 million investment deal involving former backer Breakthrough Victoria and Cadwell Industries, one of the world's largest neurodiagnostic equipment manufacturers.

Seer will join Cadwell Industries' portfolio as part of the investment deal, which also includes Singapore-based TrialCap.

Administrators from Pitcher Partners confirmed to SmartCompany the transaction is worth $40 million and will involve Cadwell Industries, TrialCap and Breakthrough Victoria each taking an equity position in the company.

For Breakthough Victoria, the state government-backed fund will see its existing investment in Seer converted to shares in the new, restructured company.

The deal forms part of a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) agreed to by creditors of Seer, which entered voluntary administration in late December following a product recall and the closure of its Australian clinics.

Seer Medical had previously raised more than $80 million for its technology that allows for diseases like epilepsy to be better detected and monitored at home.

However, the business was forced to close its 18 Australian clinics in 2024 after its primary product, a portable video EEG monitoring system called the Seer Home System, was recalled in the US.

In December, administrators Lindsay Bainbridge and Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners said they were confident the business could be restructured with the right partner.

They found that partner in Cadwell Industries, which is based in Washington and specialises in neurodiagnostic, neuromonitoring, and sleep technologies.

In a statement this week, Cadwell said it plans to integrate Seer's long-term home EEG technology into its existing EEG portfolio to build "an industry-leading product line serving clinical, ambulatory, and hospital-based epilepsy diagnostic and treatment centers".

The US company said the investment will also give it access to Seer's Melbourne office and staff, which will enhance "its technical breadth and capacity for bringing new products to market".

“We are thrilled to welcome the Seer Medical team as a part of the Cadwell family as we continue our shared vision of empowering providers to help more patients worldwide and, importantly, to expand access to quality epilepsy care for the millions who need it,” said Cadwell CEO Patrick Jensen in the statement.

“Breakthrough Victoria and TrialCap share in this same vision, and we are pleased to partner with them in improving the lives of epilepsy patients around the world.”

Seer Medical's eventful journey

Seer Medical was founded in 2017 by Dr Dean Freestone, Professor Mark Cook and George Kenley and grew out of research undertaken at the University of Melbourne.

As well as its home monitoring system, Seer also developed wearable medical devices, mobile apps for tracking and forecasting epileptic seizures, and cloud technology to translate big data into useful medical insights.

In 2019, the company won Startup Victoria’s Best of Startup State pitch night, which granted it access to the Austrade Landing Pads program, and in 2021, it secured $34 million in Series A funding from a group of investors that included Cochlear, EWM Group, SG Hiscock and Giant Leap.

A year later, the Victorian government-backed Breakthrough Victoria invested $30 million in the company and one of its first employees and founding members, Dr Pip Karoly, won a Prime Minister’s Prize for New Innovators.

Seer Medical was also selected in 2022 for LaunchVic's 30x30 program, which aims to turn fast-growing companies into billion-dollar unicorns by the end of the decade.

However, the company's difficulties began emerging in early 2024, after the company was unable to secure new funding.

Several board members subsequently resigned from the company, which received $4 million in emergency capital from Breakthrough Victoria.

The company reportedly undertook mass redundancies in 2023, and co-founder and former CEO Freestone left the company in April 2024. He went on to lodge an unfair dismissal claim against both Seer and Breakthrough Victoria.

In August 2024, Seer notified Australian and US authorities that its flagship product needed to be recalled due to issues related to its Quality Management System documentation, which required the company to change the product's design.

This prompted the closure of 18 clinics across Australia and the subsequent appointment of administrators from Pitcher Partners several months later.

Administrator Lindsay Bainbridge said the company's creditors are expected to receive most or all of the outstanding amounts owed to them, either in cash or shares, and almost all of the company's employees are expected to be retained -- an outcome he described as "excellent".

“We had teams of medical and clinical representatives fly to Melbourne to be introduced to the Seer Medical staff, receive demonstrations of the products and work with technologists, indicating the strong level of interest in this company,” said Bainbridge.

Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.