The financing for the company that created uSmile Clear Aligners was raised from existing investors along with a group of orthodontists.
uLab Systems, the creator of uSmile Clear Aligners, reports that it has raised $54.5 million in its oversubscribed Series E financing round. According to the company, the investment round included significant participation from existing investors along with a syndicate of orthodontists.
Mark Foley, uLab’s chairman of the board, stated: “This is a major milestone for uLab as it provides the necessary resources to accelerate our commercial ramp and enable us to be a formidable player in the clear aligner category. We are very pleased to see the validation of our technology and business model by investors who are intimately familiar with the market and uLab’s innovative technology. Orthodontists have recognized that innovation and pricing leadership in this market is coming from uLab and not from the larger companies in this space. As a result, they want to support and participate in the rapid growth and potential being generated by the company.”
According to a press release from the company, it will use the funds to further advance its commercial roll out and development of its platform, which features AI-assisted treatment planning, a unique pricing structure, rapid aligner delivery, the ability to plan for brackets and aligners in the same case, and customized packaging. There reportedly have been more than 250,000 uLab aligner cases planned to date in the United States. The treatment planning and aligner delivery system was recently launched in Canada and other countries will follow over time.
Amir Abolfathi, CEO of uLab, further commented: “We are very excited to embark on this next phase of growth. These funds will allow us to continue to develop our vision to bring the best orthodontic tools to market, enabling more efficient treatment planning, faster aligner delivery, and a highly flexible orthodontic platform that includes not only aligner therapy, but also bracket and hybrid systems at a significantly lower cost. Even though clear aligner therapy has enjoyed worldwide market adoption, only marginal innovation and improvement to optimize the efficiency and efficacy of aligner therapy has been introduced in over 20 years since inception. We are happy that orthodontists are embracing a company that more closely aligns itself with industry to elevate orthodontic tools to improve patient care.”
