123sonography, the education portal for ultrasound, expands to Boston. More than 240,000 subscribers worldwide use the platform's advanced training courses to keep themselves informed about the diagnosis of rare cases and to learn how to use diagnostic ultrasound. The company already generates 20 percent of its sales in the USA and has now qualified for a new initiative of the Austrian Foreign Trade Organization.
Austrian Pioneer in Boston
The "Landing Zone Program" of the Austrian Foreign Trade Center in New York supports companies in setting up a branch office as well as recruiting first employees in the USA. Boston was chosen as the location for the program due to its recognition as one of the most important global health centers.
“Universities such as Harvard and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) secure the highest annual health research budgets in the United States. Talents, investors and key players in MedTech and EdTech are located there. With landing zone, Austrian companies can start writing their own success stories in the USA", explains Michael Friedl, Austrian business delegate in New York, who was instrumental in developing the program.
123sonography founder and cardiologist Prof. Dr. Thomas Binder and his partner CEO Klaus Müller, who previously worked for Google, are taking this opportunity very seriously. In the first few weeks, the team will be staying in Boston, where the management of the new US-branch will then be handed over to the Austro-American Chris Bene, former Director at General Electric. The tasks of the US management will be to expand cooperation with clinics, partners, and strengthen market penetration.
According to Prof. Dr. Binder, there is now an opportunity to disrupt the e-learning market, especially for ultrasound and other medical imaging technology: “Ultrasound is a technology not only used by specialists. Thanks to drastic miniaturization, general practitioners can now work with a low-cost device which is similar in size to a smartphone. The market suddenly exploded and we benefited from this development. As a globally recognized educational location, Boston offers optimal growth opportunities."
Mentoring Program in Boston
The landing zone gives Austrian companies the opportunity to send founders or C-level employees for two months to the Cambridge Innovation Center. The companies then go through a mentoring program in the style of an accelerator.
In Boston, the companies are supported by Advise Connect Inspire (ACI), headed by the Austrian researcher, startup entrepreneur and investor Christoph Lengauer. ACI has already successfully helped companies from Germany to enter the US market within the framework of the German Accelerator Life Sciences (GALS). Since the program began in January 2016, participating companies have attracted over $150 million from investors.
First talks with Investors
So far, 123sonography was able to grow out of its own cash flow. With the expansion in mind, the founders have already had first talks with investors and have received initial positive feedback from international venture capitalists. The offers will now be carefully examined.
About 123sonography
Ed-Tech Startup 123sonography GmbH is the world's leading learning platform for medical ultrasound and echocardiography. Founded in Vienna in 2010, the company now employs more than 20 people and has been posting steadily growing profits since 2013. 123sonography currently offers its more than 200,000 users 12 products, which have been developed in cooperation with partners such as the Medical University of Vienna.
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