Vitestro and the EIC Accelerator: A Robot That Draws Blood

Vitestro, based in Utrecht, has built Aletta, a robot that carries out a blood draw on its own, from placing the tourniquet and finding a vein to inserting the needle and applying the bandage. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off for blended finance and received an EU grant of €2.08 million for VD-1, "The World's First Autonomous Blood Drawing Device", a €2.98 million project that ran from June 2023 to February 2025, according to CORDIS.

The project is closed. Its final report states that Vitestro enrolled the first 1,400 patients of its A.D.O.P.T. trial at four European hospital laboratories, obtained CE marking, placed its first two devices commercially at OLVG hospital in Amsterdam, signed five customers for 13 devices and raised a €20 million Series A-1 "including EIC Fund", according to the CORDIS reporting page. On 20 August 2026 the US Food and Drug Administration granted Aletta De Novo authorisation, "the first U.S. regulatory clearance for a fully autonomous blood draw system", according to Vitestro.

Where Vitestro Stands Now

In March 2026 Vitestro closed a $70 million oversubscribed Series B with strategic backing from Labcorp Venture Fund, Mayo Clinic and Sutter Health, financial investors including PGGM, and existing investors including Invest-NL and the EIC Fund, according to Dark Daily. The device is "already CE-marked and in clinical and pre-commercial use across Europe", and the company is now scaling manufacturing and planning a phased US launch.

The Technology: Imaging, Robotics and AI

Aletta combines near-infrared imaging with ultrasound and Doppler ultrasound to tell veins from arteries, then uses robotics and AI to guide the needle. The final report states that user acceptance, first-time success and haemolysis rates were "comparable to those measured using human nurses". Dark Daily reported a 95% first-stick success rate from earlier trial results. The company pitches the device as a response to shortages of phlebotomy staff.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award backed a trial and industrialisation of the first autonomous blood-drawing device. Within the project period Vitestro ran what it calls the largest trial in autonomous blood drawing worldwide, won a CE mark and made its first sales. After the project it secured US authorisation, the step that opens the largest market. Detailed trial results have been presented at Dutch congresses; a peer-reviewed publication of the full A.D.O.P.T. results is not cited in the sources.

1. Large clinical trialDelivered1,400 enrolled at 4 sites.
2. CE markDeliveredEU sales allowed.
3. First customersDelivered5 customers, 13 devices.
4. US authorisationDeliveredFDA De Novo, 2026.

The 2023 award was not Vitestro's first EIC grant for the device. In the EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 cut-off of 5 June 2019, Vitestro was selected, grant only, for BRAVE, to optimise and validate the VD-1 prototype in a clinical study, industrialise its robotic positioning system and build a first production series, according to the European Commission's list of selected companies and CORDIS. CORDIS records an EU contribution of €2,364,757.50 towards a €3.42 million project from January 2020 to June 2022, and the final report says Vitestro finalised the design of the positioning system and assembled it; it does not report the first production series, and Vitestro has not announced one. Its first commercial devices followed the CE marking under the 2023 award. When Vitestro unveiled the device in May 2022, it said the prototype had performed 1,500 automated blood draws on more than 1,000 patients in clinical studies, according to its announcement.

The Money

The EIC Fund invested in the €20 million Series A-1 and stayed in for the $70 million Series B, making Vitestro one of the EIC's clearer equity successes so far. Vitestro's revenue and losses could not be checked from free sources, and the size of the EIC Fund's stake is not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Blood draws are among the most common procedures in healthcare, and labs face staff shortages, Dark Daily notes. Vitestro says it holds the first FDA authorisation for an autonomous blood-draw device and a CE mark in Europe, with EU grant and equity support at an early stage. Its large US hospital and lab investors show where the next growth is expected.

The Verdict

Vitestro and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.