The London-based healthtech, which enables clinicians to conduct emergencies and difficult conversations in virtual reality, will use the capital to deepen its footprint in the US and accelerate AI-based product development.
Oxford Medical Simulation has raised £5 million in growth funding from London-based investment firm Salica Investments, formerly known as Hambro Perks. The funding will support OMS’ expansion into US healthcare systems and academic institutions, along with investment in AI-powered simulation scenarios, learning analytics and workflow tools.
OMS builds virtual reality simulation software for the healthcare sector, enabling nurses, doctors and allied health professionals to experience clinical scenarios, emergencies, difficult conversations, procedures anytime, anywhere without putting real patients at risk.
The platform works on both VR headsets and standard screens and pairs immersive scenarios with evidence-based feedback and performance analytics, enabling businesses to track readiness across their entire workforce.
Founded by clinicians in 2017, the company currently works with hospitals, health systems and universities in the US, UK and internationally. It currently delivers more than 35,000 simulations per month, and in its January 2024 Series A announcement, it noted a 74% reduction in staff and equipment costs compared to traditional physical simulation methods.
“This funding allows us to invest with confidence in the next phase of OMS” said Michael Wallace, CEO of Oxford Medical Simulation. “Our partners in US healthcare and academia are focused on outcomes, safer practice, better trained staff and more efficient delivery. This growth capital from Salica means we can move faster on exactly these priorities: to expand the breadth and depth of content, deepen our analytics capabilities and support more institutions to transform their learning for a new generation of learners.”
The relevance of the problem solved by OMS has become more acute in recent years. Healthcare workforce shortages, high turnover, and the increasing complexity of clinical training, particularly for nurses transitioning to practice, have prompted institutions to move beyond traditional simulation centers and mannequin-based training.
OMS’ own figures, repeatedly cited in previous funding announcements, put the share of graduate nurses unprepared for clinical practice at 91%.
On the technology side, OMS is integrating AI more deeply into its scenarios. Its Hands & Voice product, launched in recent months, replaces menu-driven interaction with fully voice-driven simulation, using large language models to enhance natural patient dialogue and an emotion and physiology engine to generate realistic patient responses.
The platform also supports multi-player interprofessional scenarios that allow a doctor and nurse from different locations to manage the same virtual patient together, a use case of direct relevance to remote and distributed clinical teams.
Rebranding from Hambro Perks in 2024, Salica Investments manages a multi-fund structure covering equity and growth debt for high-growth UK and European companies. Tracxn lists him as an active investor with approximately 150 portfolio companies.
The OMS deal follows on from its growth debt offering, with the firm providing senior secured loans to high-growth software and IP-rich businesses in the UK (currently raising Fund II with £150m target). OMS investment is clearly described as financing growth rather than equity.
“Oxford Medical Simulation is exactly the type of business we want to support. The team has built a proven differentiated platform at scale and is working with leading healthcare systems and universities to address a critical need: giving clinicians and students the chance to practice safely. We are excited to support OMS as they expand their impact in healthcare and education.” This was stated by Usman Ali, a partner of one of the Salica Investments funds.
The funding is OMS’ largest public raise since a £10 million ($12.6 million) Series A in January 2024, led by Frog Capital with follow-on from ACF Investors and existing shareholders.
The company previously raised £2.1m in a 2022 round that included ACF Investors and angel investor Dr Nicolaus Henke, former chairman of QuantumBlack and former head of McKinsey’s global healthcare practice. PitchBook records approximately $19.7 million in funding to date, consistent with the addition of this new round.
OMS is registered in England and Wales (Company No. 10587122) and has a US facility in Somerville, Massachusetts, reflecting the growing weight of its American client base, which has become a key target for this latest round.
