Artificial heart developer Carmat says it faces financial insolvency by the end of the month.
In a June 20 news release, the Paris-area company stated that it needs to secure at least €3.5 million by the end of the month and requires approximately €35 million over the next 12 months (€20 million by the end of December 2025). Carmat cited a very challenging funding environment for small and mid-cap companies.
On top of continued efforts secure funds, Carmat said it had started a donation campaign on the Onparticipe.fr platform. As of today, it showed only €13,033 raised out of a goal of €10 million.
The news of imminent lack of cash comes just weeks after Carmat announced the first commercial implants of its Aeson artificial heart outside of the EU, with two procedures taking place in Israel.
The company brought in €7 million in revenue in 2024, with a net loss of more than €51 million, according to its annual report released in April. Carmat also warned of the need to raise funds at the time.
Founded in 2008, Carmat has had the ambition to make Aeson the first alternative to a heart transplant, providing a therapeutic solution to people suffering from end-stage biventricular heart failure. According to the company, Aeson is a physiological artificial heart that is highly hemocompatible, pulsatile and self-regulated, with an ergonomic and portable external power supply system.
Aeson is presently commercially available as a bridge to transplant in the European Union under a CE mark, and is presently being assessed within the framework of an early feasability study in the United States.
Even as Carmat faces financial trials, the artificial heart space has been generating a great deal of excitement lately. Huntington Beach, California–based BiVacor last month announced FDA breakthrough device designation for its Total Artificial Heart (TAH) system. Sized similarly to an adult fist, the TAH uses magnetic levitation technology.
Meanwhile, Tucson, Arizona–based SynCardia — the only company with a commercially available total artificial heart in the U.S. — is developing a next-gen artificial heart called the Emperor that will be a fully implantable version, without external drivers. (SynCardia’s CEO and COO discussed Emperor during a DeviceTalks Weekly podcast episode in March.)
