Deepspin
Entrepreneur First '20Berlin, DE · Founded 2020 · 7 known investors
DeepSpin develops a flatbed, low-field MRI system that removes cryogenics, heavy infrastructure, and shielded rooms, allowing advanced imaging in a roughly 20-25 square-foot footprint. The system targets hospitals, clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers for uses including intervention guidance and large-scale screening.
Also known as Deepspin · DeepSpin
Founders & leadership
Deepspin was founded in 2020 by Clemens Tepel and Pedro Silva.
Investors · 7
Also in the syndicate · 6
Company profile
researched Aug 2026DeepSpin is a Berlin, Germany-based medical technology company developing a low-field, AI-powered magnetic resonance imaging scanner in a "flatbed" (open, no-bore) format. The system is designed to remove the cryogenics, heavy infrastructure, complex maintenance and dedicated shielded MRI suite that conventional scanners require, so that MRI can be deployed within ordinary clinical spaces at the point of care. The company's site states the scanner occupies roughly 20-25 square feet and delivers approximately 10x lower cost, and that the open design eliminates claustrophobia and acoustic noise for patients.
The technical premise, as described by the founders, is to replace expensive hardware with simplified hardware plus sophisticated algorithms: a new antenna technology combined with AI-controlled operation, which the company said in 2020 it was in the process of patenting. At that stage the approach had been validated in simulation and the team's focus was building a first fully AI-driven prototype, then an initial product version for pre-clinical applications ahead of medical certification. A third-party profile refers to a product designated MR2go and describes the scanner as operable by non-specialists.
Stated clinical targets are intervention guidance, diagnostics, screening and early disease detection, sold to hospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgery centres. One aggregator profile reports the company is raising a $10 million Series A to fund clinical deployments and regulatory clearance. Note that source data on the company is inconsistent: founding year is given as both 2019 and 2020, footprint as both 20 and 25 square feet, and the employee band reported by one aggregator (1001-5000) is implausible for a company of this stage and is not corroborated elsewhere.
Founding story
Pedro Freire Silva, a PhD researcher from KIT working on small-scale, mass-manufacturable MRI systems, pitched the concept to Clemens Tepel, a former McKinsey consultant, while both were in Entrepreneur First's programme; they partnered in September 2019 and validated the concept in simulation within four weeks, also securing industry advisors and initial clinician letters of intent.
Business model
Medical device developer intending to sell or place its MRI hardware with healthcare providers — hospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgery centres. Sources describe a pre-commercial path: prototype, then an initial product version for pre-clinical applications, then medical certification enabling clinical sales across medical domains and new geographies.
Not specified in the sources beyond the sale of MRI systems to healthcare providers; the company is described as pre-launch/pre-commercial in the available material.
Traction
Pre-commercial. Concept validated in simulation within four weeks of founding, with industry advisors and initial clinician letters of intent secured by mid-2020; approximately €1 million raised pre-launch including grants and earlier investments. Accelerator participation includes Entrepreneur First, SOSV/HAX 2020 and, per one aggregator, Creative Destruction Lab in 2023. The company is hiring across MRI science, medical software and regulatory affairs.
Latest developments
The company website (copyright 2026) presents the flatbed MRI as its lead product and lists open roles. SOSV lists current openings including MRI Scientist, Medical Software Engineer (freelance) and Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance Specialist, indicating a focus on regulatory work. An aggregator profile states DeepSpin is raising a $10 million Series A for clinical deployments and regulatory clearance, and names MRI Software Lead Torben Schneider and Image Reconstruction Scientist Fatima Ba among technical staff.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as the first company to build a flatbed MRI, claiming best-in-class low-field MRI performance. Sources frame the opportunity around the inaccessibility of conventional MRI — cited as 0.23 machines per million people in low-income countries — and around decentralised, point-of-care imaging. No named competitors are identified in the sources.
Claimed to be the world's first flatbed MRI: an open, portable, low-field scanner requiring no cryogenics, no shielded room and about 20-25 square feet, at roughly 10x lower cost per scan (one aggregator cites 10-20x). Differentiation rests on proprietary antenna hardware plus AI-based control and reconstruction rather than post-processing AI on conventional hardware, and on patient comfort from the open, low-noise design.
Technology
A low-field, open (no-bore) flatbed MRI scanner. The design eliminates cryogenics, heavy infrastructure, complex maintenance and shielded rooms, and requires roughly 20-25 square feet. Core enablers described by the founders are a proprietary antenna technology and AI-controlled operation, with sophisticated reconstruction algorithms applied to simplified hardware to recover clinical information; the company said in 2020 it was patenting this. Third-party material adds that the system weighs hundreds of kilograms rather than tons, is fully mobile, and is intended to be usable by untrained operators through real-time AI control.
Go-to-market
Sources describe a staged path to market: prototype, an initial product version aimed at pre-clinical applications, then medical certification to permit clinical sale. Distribution is direct to healthcare providers, with a stated Series A intended to fund clinical deployments and regulatory clearance. The company also draws on endorsements from imaging-industry figures, including Walter Märzendorfer, chairman of Medical Valley EMN and former Siemens Healthineers medical imaging CEO.
Hospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgery centres; also framed as serving healthcare providers in underserved areas and lower-income countries that cannot afford conventional MRI systems.
Geography
Headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Investor and directory listings place the company in Berlin; sources describe an ambition to serve underserved regions and geographies that cannot afford conventional MRI systems.
History
The two founders, Clemens Tepel and Pedro Freire Silva, met and decided to partner in September 2019 through Entrepreneur First's company builder programme, where Freire Silva pitched research on small-scale, mass-manufacturable MRI systems. Feasibility was proven in simulation within four weeks, alongside recruiting industry advisors and obtaining first letters of intent from clinicians. The company joined SOSV's HAX 2020 cohort and announced a €600,000 seed round in June 2020. Aggregator data lists two seed tranches in March and June 2020 totalling $980K. One profile also cites selection for Creative Destruction Lab in 2023 and a Series A raise in progress.
Risks & controversies
The company was described in 2020 as yet-to-launch and still in development, with core antenna and AI technology then only being patented, so execution, prototype-to-product and medical certification risk are material. It must obtain regulatory clearance before clinical sale, and an aggregator indicates it is dependent on raising a $10 million Series A to fund clinical deployments and clearance. Public data on the company is thin and inconsistent across sources (founding year, footprint, employee count, total funding), and no independent clinical or performance validation appears in the sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsBerlin-based DeepSpin announced a €600,000 seed round backed by APEX Digital Health with participation from existing investors Entrepreneur First and SOSV plus unnamed angels; including grants and earlier investments the company said total pre-launch funding reached €1 million.
DeepSpin is listed in SOSV's portfolio under the HAX 2020 cohort at seed stage, categorized under hard tech and healthcare.
Clemens Tepel, a former McKinsey consultant, and Pedro Freire Silva, a PhD researcher from KIT, decided to co-found the company during Entrepreneur First's company builder programme; feasibility was proven in simulation within four weeks, with advisors and first clinician letters of intent secured.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Deepspindeepspin.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Deepspin do?
- Berlin medtech developing an AI-driven, low-field flatbed MRI scanner that needs no cryogenics or shielded room.
- Who founded Deepspin?
- Deepspin was founded by Clemens Tepel, Pedro Silva in 2020.
- Who are Deepspin's investors?
- Deepspin's investors include Entrepreneur First.
- Where is Deepspin headquartered?
- Deepspin is headquartered in Berlin, DE.