Skleo Health Funding: German Healthtech Raises €3M to Expand AI Eye Screening Nationwide

Skleo Health, a fast-growing healthtech startup based in Düsseldorf, has raised €3 million in a seed funding round to scale its AI-powered preventive eye screening services across Germany. The round was led by ophthalmology services giant Sanoptis, with participation from Antler and a group of angel investors.

Founded in March 2024, Skleo Health is on a mission to prevent blindness by making early eye condition detection more accessible. Its solution integrates CE-certified AI diagnostics with clinical review from licensed eye doctors, providing fast and medically validated results in everyday settings like pharmacies, opticians, offices, and retail outlets. Each screening takes just six minutes and identifies potential eye diseases including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.

Since launch, the startup has screened over 11,000 people in Germany’s 50 largest cities, identifying more than 3,000 cases needing medical intervention. With an average national wait time of 56 days to see an eye specialist—and 31% of patients receiving care too late—Skleo Health is addressing a significant healthcare gap.

The company’s expansion strategy includes increasing monthly screening capacity to 30,000 and launching a national platform that connects patients with eye care specialists. The fresh capital will also support enhancements to its proprietary AI diagnostic system. A strategic partnership with lead investor Sanoptis will enable Skleo to scale its network rapidly, while maintaining a high standard of medical accuracy and accessibility.

Skleo Health has partnered with key organizations like optical chain Mister Spex, a growing network of pharmacies, corporate entities, and is set to onboard a major retail group soon. The startup’s approach is also supported by academic institutions including Charité University Clinic Berlin, UCL London, and Yale University.

The founding team brings deep domain expertise. Dr. Steffen E. Künzel, an ophthalmologist and researcher from Charité University Hospital, co-founded the company alongside Fabien Vogl, an engineer and MBA graduate with experience in healthcare digitization, and Dr. Alex Hein, a former Boston Consulting Group consultant with a background in mathematics and economics. They met during Antler’s founder residency program in Berlin in 2023.

Sanoptis CEO Dr. Volker Wendel praised the startup’s vision, calling it a “new era in proactive, patient-centered eye care.” Sanoptis operates over 450 ophthalmology centers across six European countries, performing around 3.3 million treatments annually.

Alan Poensgen, Partner at Antler, highlighted Skleo’s precision and speed in building a solution rooted in real patient and doctor needs. Antler, known for backing startups at the earliest stage, has supported over 1,400 ventures globally and plans to support over 6,000 by 2030.

Skleo Health’s tech-driven model aims to replace reactive treatment with proactive prevention—redefining how Europe approaches eye care.