Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Plaça Eusebi Güell, 1-3, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08034, Spain
Overview
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center is a scientific institution specialized in high-performance computing and big data. It offers infrastructure and supercomputing services to local and European scientists. The Center hosts MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe. The computer sciences department of the BSC-CNS focuses on building upon currently available hardware and software technologies and adapting them to make efficient use of supercomputing infrastructures. The department proposes novel architectures for processors and memory hierarchy and develops programming models and implementation approaches for these models as well as tools for performance analysis and prediction. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center was established in April 2005 and is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 4
Sector focus
- Big Data
- Life Science
- Market Research
- Software
Investment portfolio
- FrontWave Imaging
Participated · Equity · Nov 2020
FrontWave Imaging develops a supercomputing software that transforms 3D ultrasound (USCT) data into high‑resolution images to enable earlier, non‑ionizing breast‑cancer detection. The startup positions its solution as a SaaS product that any hospital with compatible data‑acquisition hardware can use. It aims to provide more reliable imaging for patients with dense breast tissue and to enable routine screening at younger ages by avoiding ionizing radiation. With the recent funds, FrontWave plans to finish software development, complete a first prototype and obtain clinical validation and required certifications to reach market in 2023. The company was spun out in 2020 from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Imperial College London and currently has a team of 13 professionals. Financing to date has been directed toward product development and clinical validation. FrontWave Imaging develops image‑reconstruction software that uses supercomputing to produce very high‑fidelity, submillimetric breast images from ultrasound data. The product is designed to work with data from any ultrasound tomography device and is targeted at device manufacturers and medical providers. The company markets a non‑ionizing, potentially less painful alternative to mammography, with particular value in imaging dense breasts and enabling earlier routine screening. FrontWave plans a SaaS business model so hospitals with compatible machines can use the technology, and aims to obtain necessary certifications to reach market by 2023. The startup is a joint spin‑off of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Imperial College London, and 101 Ventures contributes commercial expertise and early funding. Founders Josep de la Puente, Lluís Guasch and Óscar Calderón drew on experience in supercomputing and geophysics to adapt acoustic wave simulation techniques to medical imaging.