A biotech startup based in the Netherlands is looking to grow its operations by expanding them in Pittsburgh.
Splendo Health, which is making AI and mobile app tech that looks to expand the use of Cardiorespiratory Function (CRF) assessments for patients everywhere and not just for those who are in hospitals, disclosed that it has been working with the Pennsylvania Office of International Business Development to increase its U.S.-based footprint.
It's an effort the startup started back in 2019, but it came to a crawl amid the onset of the pandemic.
But according to Eric Sanchez, the U.S. CEO of Splendo Health, those efforts are picking up again. He said he is spending a lot of time between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and even considers the Steel City to be his second home given how frequently he's in the city. All of these travels will lead to the company building a presence here soon.
"We definitely will have sales and R&D offices in Pittsburgh because of all of the talent there, and hopefully more," Sanchez said in a blog post on the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's website. "It has the perfect location too – I see it as the center of a wheel, being surrounded by other markets like Ohio and Virginia and West Virginia that we can expand into. We’re absolutely going to explore Philadelphia as well and hope to have some operations there. And we’re going to continue working with groups like the Allegheny Health Network and AlphaLab Health and others in the PA health care and life sciences ecosystem."
In the future, Sanchez said he envisions growing the Splendo Health platform and its CRF assessments to rural and underserved areas. He sees the noninvasive and wearable technology that Splendo is developing as being able to offer additional health services in the future, too.
Sanchez didn't offer a timeline as to when the company will open its Pittsburgh offices nor did he share how many employees the startup might hire here. But it comes just weeks after retail-focused AI startup Netail, a spinout company from Google Brain co-founder Andrew Ng's Landing AI group, announced its relocation plans to Pittsburgh to establish the city as its headquarters following the raise of a $5 million seed round co-led by Landing AI and Pittsburgh-based Magarac Venture Partners.
