Iceland: Sidekick Health Secures €35 Million Venture Debt from EIB to Accelerate R&D and Global Expansion

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €35 million venture debt facility with Sidekick Health, a leading digital health and therapeutics company operating across Europe and the US.
• The funding will accelerate Sidekick’s therapy development and AI-driven platform innovation across multiple chronic and specialty care areas.
• The R&D-focused facility is backed by the European Commission’s InvestEU initiative and complemented by a €7M capital injection from existing and new investors to accelerate Sidekick’s commercial growth.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Sidekick Health — a global leader in integrated digital health and therapeutics — today announced the signing of a €35 million venture debt facility, backed by a dedicated life science venture debt window of the European Commission’s InvestEU programme. It provides Sidekick with dedicated capital to accelerate R&D activities, expand its digital therapeutics portfolio, enhance AI capabilities, and strengthen its data and platform infrastructure — delivering scalable, secure, and impactful solutions for patients, payers, and pharmaceutical partners worldwide. The agreement represents the EIB Group’s first venture debt transaction in Iceland, where Sidekick is headquartered.

In parallel, Sidekick closed an additional €7M growth-focused financing, reflecting strong investor confidence and providing additional capital to scale its commercial footprint and strategic partnerships.

At the signing ceremony today in Luxembourg, Tryggvi Thorgeirsson, MD, MPH, CEO and Co-Founder of Sidekick Health, commented:

“This strategic financing from the EIB enables us to double down on our mission to improve and save lives by digitizing care. It strengthens our ability to invest in R&D, therapy development, and AI, while focusing future equity on scaling our commercial impact. Together with the strong backing of our investors, our diversified funding strategy — now including non-dilutive venture debt — positions Sidekick to accelerate innovation, deepen our partnerships, and continue transforming healthcare at scale.”

Thomas Östros, Vice-President of the EIB, said:

“The EIB has a solid track record in financing European med-tech companies through its venture debt instrument. The competitiveness of these companies is very important for our EU strategic autonomy. This is already the fifth InvestEU project in Iceland, building on a long tradition of EU-guaranteed funding for Icelandic projects.”

Sidekick partners with leading pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, and healthcare providers to deliver AI-enhanced digital health and therapeutics solutions across chronic and specialty care, including oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic, women’s health, and inflammatory conditions. The company’s platform has demonstrated improved patient outcomes and supported cost reduction in collaboration with partners, helping drive the shift toward personalized, proactive care.

EU Ambassador to Iceland Clara Ganslandt added:

“It was only in January last year, 2024, that Iceland’s participation in InvestEU was formally launched but we now already have five InvestEU projects in Iceland. That is certainly worth celebrating. The EU is committed to fuelling research and innovation and making use of impactful investments – in a world of increased global competition, it is in our common interest for Iceland and the European Union to work together. For three decades, since 1994, Icelandic organisations have been remarkably active, valued and successful participants in EU programmes, and Sidekick Health will certainly make this financing agreement a success.”

Background information  

EIB 

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.  

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.  

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.  

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable economy. It helps generate additional investments in line with EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. This guarantee increases their risk-bearing capacity, thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Sidekick Health

Sidekick Health is a digital health innovation company offering a uniquely broad portfolio of digital health and therapeutic programs across oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic, women’s health, and inflammatory conditions. Our solutions engage and empower people to improve health outcomes and quality of life. Sidekick works with health insurers, including leading national US health plans, pharmaceutical companies, including half of the world’s top 10 life sciences companies, and develops fully regulated prescription digital therapeutics — prescribed by over 17,000 physicians — designed to improve patient outcomes, enhance clinical efficiency, and reduce the cost of care.