INVISIBLE SENTINEL, INC: PHILADELPHIA FOOD SAFETY STARTUP ACQUIRED BY FRENCH FIRM, BIOMÉRIEUX, FOR $75 MILLION IN 2019.

Invisible Sentinel, Inc: Philadelphia food safety startup acquired by French firm, BioMérieux, for $75 million in 2019.
Founded in 2006, Invisible Sentinel, sells Veriflow, a patented technology that provides rapid detection of pathogens and spoilage organisms in beer, wine and other food products. More than one million of its tests have been sold since they went on the market in 2014. It raised $24 million from 70 investors, employs 40 persons, and had $9 million in revenues, finally turning profitable at year end. One problem: “raising capital was always one of the more difficult things” since the company launch.
Enter BioMérieux, the French leader in diagnosing infectious diseases. The company also has interest in food and beverages so there was a natural fit. After meeting up at a trade show in the U.S., the companies came together to do the deal. For Invisible Sentinel, teaming up with BioMérieux means that its USA technology and products can “get into hands of more end users internationally” with the support of a well-capitalized French company.
Read more about this French-US cross-border deal here.