UK-based healthtech company TidalSense raised $19 million to expand its AI-powered respiratory diagnostic platform across Europe and prepare for US market entry. The handheld device detects chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by analyzing patients’ breath in 75 seconds without traditional spirometry.
New investor Cross-Border Impact Ventures led the round, joined by existing backers BGF, Airstream Capital and Foresight Group. The financing brings TidalSense’s total funding to $40 million, including $11 million in grants from UK research agencies.
The company’s N-Tidal Diagnose platform captures a carbon dioxide waveform from normal breathing and feeds it through AI models trained on more than 2.5 million patient breaths. Results return in under five minutes, and healthcare professionals can learn to operate the device in 10 minutes without specialist qualifications.
“We’re still diagnosing in the 21st century with a test invented in the 1800s,” said CEO Ameera Patel. “Lower-income and minority communities pay the price for that first. That’s the gap we want to close.”
TidalSense will use the capital to accelerate commercial rollout in the UK, Ireland and Europe, expand its operations team and develop diagnostic applications for asthma and other respiratory conditions beyond COPD. The device received a Class IIa CE mark under the EU Medical Device Regulation in March 2025 and has exceeded 90% accuracy in post-market validation studies.
COPD affects an estimated 384 million people worldwide and is the third-leading cause of death globally, yet it remains severely underdiagnosed due to the complexity of traditional spirometry testing.
