Laerdal Million Lives Fund

The fund is anchored by Laerdal Medical, the global leader in CPR training and emergency medical equipment. This single-anchor structure means the fund does not raise capital from a broad LP base. The balance-sheet backing from Laerdal Medical permits longer holding periods than traditional venture funds and aligns investment decisions with the parent company's mission of helping save lives.

The Laerdal Million Lives Fund is a for-profit venture and growth equity vehicle, distinct from the Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine. The Foundation, established in 1980, provides philanthropic grants to not-for-profit organizations in emergency medicine and related fields. The Fund complements this philanthropic arm by making equity investments in companies that can scale life-saving interventions commercially, with both entities ultimately serving the same mission of reducing preventable deaths.

The fund focuses on growth-stage and later-stage venture investments, typically deploying $10 million to $50 million per deal in companies that already have regulatory clearances and clinical evidence. It generally avoids seed-stage and early preclinical investments, preferring companies that have demonstrated both clinical impact and commercial traction in real-world healthcare settings.

The fund concentrates on maternal and newborn health, emergency care, and trauma—areas directly aligned with Laerdal Medical's expertise in resuscitation and simulation. It seeks digital health platforms and medical devices where the primary clinical endpoint is mortality reduction, rather than wellness or chronic disease management. Companies targeting low-resource settings and underserved populations are a particular focus.

Yes. The fund applies a clinical due-diligence framework that examines peer-reviewed outcome data, regulatory approvals, and real-world mortality-reduction evidence before committing capital. This standard is higher than that of a typical health-tech venture fund and reflects the influence of Laerdal Medical's culture of evidence-based medicine.