Sava has raised a $36 million Series B led by Ascensia Diabetes Care, which is also taking a strategic equity stake and exclusive rights to distribute the London startup's glucose microsensor across Europe once it is approved. Announced 9 October 2026, the round brings Sava's total funding to $68 million and arrives alongside the company's stated plan for a pivotal clinical study this year, with CE approval and a European launch targeted within 18 to 24 months.
Sava's Series B in four figures
Figures from Sava's 9 October 2026 Series B announcement and prior funding disclosures.
A distributor that invested before approval
Sava’s round is unusual for what accompanies the money. Ascensia Diabetes Care, a PHC Holdings subsidiary that makes the CONTOUR line of blood glucose meters and sells in more than 90 countries, is not just leading the $36 million Series B with a strategic equity stake — it has also signed an exclusive agreement to commercialize and distribute Sava’s microsensor across Europe once it clears regulatory review. Balderton Capital, Pentland Ventures, Norrsken VC, Simplyhealth Ventures and JamJar Investments joined the round, which brings Sava’s total funding to $68 million since its 2019 founding.
Locking in a distribution partner before a product is approved is a bet in both directions: Ascensia gets early access to a continuous glucose monitoring technology outside the Abbott-Dexcom duopoly it does not otherwise compete in, and Sava gets a channel into more than 90 countries without having to build one itself — provided the sensor clears the clinical study and CE review still ahead of it.
“For decades, continuous monitoring has been held back by the same legacy technology. This is about to change.” Renato Circi, co-founder and co-CEO, Sava — 9 October 2026 Series B announcement
Microneedles a tenth the length of a CGM filament
Where Dexcom's and Abbott's sensors insert a single filament under the skin, Sava's microsensor uses a cluster of microneedles the company describes as roughly ten times shorter, sampling interstitial fluid just beneath the skin rather than piercing further into tissue. In February 2026, Sava reported what it called the first 10-day clinical evidence for the approach: a study of people with type 1 and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes that the company says showed glucose readings comparable to standard methods across the full wear period.
That is the company’s own characterization of an unreviewed study, not a regulatory finding — Sava has not published the trial in a peer-reviewed journal, and neither the UK’s MHRA nor the FDA has evaluated the device. The pivotal clinical study the Series B is meant to fund is the next, and considerably higher, bar.
Three things Sava is betting the round on
Shorter microneedles, same promise
Sava says its microsensor uses microneedles roughly ten times shorter than a conventional CGM filament, aiming to make insertion less invasive while still sampling interstitial fluid continuously.
A distributor, not just a backer
Ascensia's exclusive European distribution agreement, signed alongside its equity stake, gives Sava a commercialization partner already selling glucose-monitoring products in more than 90 countries.
Non-adjunctive is the target label
Sava is aiming for approval that would let patients dose insulin on the sensor's reading alone, without a confirmatory fingerstick — a higher bar than an adjunctive CGM clearance.
A two-company market Sava wants to turn into three
Continuous glucose monitoring is dominated by two companies, Abbott and Dexcom, whose FreeStyle Libre and G7 franchises between them account for most of the sensors worn by people with diabetes today. Research firms size the broader device market differently depending on scope and base year, but the forecasts agree on the direction: a market growing at a double-digit clip through the end of the decade, which is the opportunity Ascensia is paying to get an early seat at with a technology outside its own existing lineup.
Continuous glucose monitoring, sized to 2030
$10.3B → $16.3B
Published 2030 forecasts for the global continuous glucose monitoring device market, which vary by publisher between roughly $10 billion and $16 billion depending on scope.
Sources: Precedence Research, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices Market · Strategic Market Research, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market
Regulatory News outlook
We expect a third approved continuous glucose monitoring platform to take low single-digit share of a market this concentrated within its first few years, even with a committed distributor, because Abbott and Dexcom's installed base and payer contracts are the harder barrier, not manufacturing.
How we got here: Splitting the gap between the lowest ($10.34B) and highest ($16.33B) published 2030 forecasts puts the category at roughly $13 billion; a new entrant capturing even 2% of that by the end of the decade implies about $260 million in annual sales, which we treat as a realistic early ceiling given Sava has not yet completed a pivotal trial.
Sava's microsensor against the shelf it wants to join
| Product | Form | Wear time | Approval status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sava microsensor | Microneedle cluster, interstitial fluid sampling | Up to 10 days in early testing | Not yet approved; CE targeted in 18–24 months |
| Dexcom G7 | Single filament sensor | 10 days (15.5 days on the G7 15 Day) | FDA cleared |
| Abbott FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus | Single filament sensor | Up to 15 days | FDA cleared |
| Medtronic Simplera Sync | Single filament sensor | 7 days | FDA approved, April 2025 |
From each company’s published labelling and announcements; not a clinical comparison.
From an Imperial College project to a third round
Sava’s road to a distribution partner
- 2019
Sava founded
Renato Circi and Rafaël Michali, bioengineers from Imperial College London, start the company in London.
- June 2024
$8M seed round
Seed funding led by Balderton Capital to build the microsensor platform.
- July 2025
$19M Series A
Series A led by Balderton Capital and Pentland Ventures.
- February 2026
First 10-day clinical data
Sava reports what it calls the first 10-day clinical evidence for its microsensor, in people with type 1 and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes.
- 9 October 2026
$36M Series B, Ascensia deal
Ascensia Diabetes Care leads the round and signs an exclusive European distribution agreement.
- 2026–2027
Pivotal clinical study planned
Sava plans the pivotal study it says will support a CE submission.
- Within 18–24 months
CE approval and launch targeted
Targeted timeline for non-adjunctive use and a European commercial launch with Ascensia.
What a distribution deal can't do until approval lands
Ascensia's exclusive agreement is a promise about distribution, not a regulatory outcome. Sava still has to run the pivotal clinical study, submit for CE marking, and demonstrate the accuracy a non-adjunctive insulin-dosing claim demands — a higher bar than the adjunctive labelling many CGMs carry at launch. Neither company has disclosed the pivotal trial's size, sites or primary endpoint, nor whether Sava will separately pursue FDA clearance for the U.S. market, where Ascensia's distribution rights do not apply.
- No approval yet: Sava's microsensor has neither CE marking nor FDA clearance; the February 2026 data is an unreviewed company-reported study, not a submission.
- Europe only, for now: Ascensia's distribution agreement is exclusive but limited to Europe; no U.S. regulatory or commercial plan has been disclosed.
- Non-adjunctive is a harder claim: dosing insulin on the sensor alone, without a confirmatory fingerstick, requires accuracy data beyond what an adjunctive CGM clearance needs.
Sources & further reading
- Sava and Ascensia Diabetes Care, Series B financing and distribution partnership announcement, Business Wire, 9 October 2026. businesswire.com
- MDDI Online, “Ascensia Partners with Sava for Next-Gen Diabetes Microsensors.” mddionline.com
- Tech Funding News, “Ascensia leads $36M Series B in Sava to replace fingerstick glucose testing.” techfundingnews.com
- Insider.fitt, “Sava lands $36M for noninvasive glucose monitor.” insider.fitt.co
- Sava, “Sava Reports World-First 10-Day Clinical Evidence for Continuous Glucose Monitoring via Proprietary Microsensor Technology,” February 2026. sava.health
- Sava, “Sava Raises $8 Million in Seed Funding to Build Preventative, Personalised, Precision Health Monitoring at Scale,” June 2024. sava.health
- Precedence Research, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices Market. precedenceresearch.com
Regulatory News reports on public regulatory documents. It is not legal advice, and the primary sources above govern. If we have made an error, we will say so in public: see corrections.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Sava raise, and from whom?
A $36 million Series B led by Ascensia Diabetes Care, announced 9 October 2026, bringing Sava's total funding to $68 million. Balderton Capital, Pentland Ventures, Norrsken VC, Simplyhealth Ventures and JamJar Investments also took part.
Is Sava's sensor approved yet?
No. It has neither CE marking nor FDA clearance. Sava is planning a pivotal clinical study this year and is targeting CE approval and a European launch within 18 to 24 months, for non-adjunctive use that would allow insulin dosing without routine fingerstick confirmation.
What is Ascensia's role beyond the investment?
Ascensia Diabetes Care, a PHC Holdings subsidiary known for its CONTOUR blood glucose meters, also signed an exclusive agreement to commercialize and distribute Sava's microsensor, starting in Europe, once it is approved.
How is Sava's sensor different from a standard CGM?
Sava describes a microsensor roughly ten times shorter than conventional continuous glucose monitor filaments, using microneedles to sample interstitial fluid just under the skin. An early clinical study reported comparable glucose readings to standard methods over a 10-day wear period.
