Global Investors Won’t Wait: Carlos Ciller of RetinAI Shares How to Build a Company Investors Actually Want to Invest

Jordi Montserrat, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Venturelab, spoke with Carlos Ciller, Co-Founder and CEO of RetinAI, about building an AI healthcare company before AI became a buzzword, meeting his first investor through Venture Leaders, and learning quickly that neither investors nor global markets wait until you feel ready.

From Medical Imaging to Healthcare AI

It has been almost ten years since Carlos Ciller, co-founder and CEO of RetinAI, was part of the Swiss National Startup Team. His company RetinAI is a Swiss software company applying AI to medical imaging and ophthalmology. Founded in 2017, RetinAI helps healthcare teams make better decisions sooner by collecting data, running AI models, and bringing the right information to the people who need it, such as pharmaceutical companies, clinics, and, one day, possibly patients. 

Since launch, RetinAI has raised more than USD 20 million, certified six medical devices, processed millions of patient visits, and worked with major pharmaceutical companies on clinical development. Five months ago, the company was acquired by EssilorLuxottica. For Carlos, that closed chapter one: building the company. Chapter two is about impact. 


RetinAI is redefining eye care through intelligent imaging

The Venture Leaders Moment

Right after founding RetinAI, Carlos was part of Venture Leaders Boston in the same year and Venture Leaders China in 2018. The Boston roadshow changed the company’s path fast. “In the evening where we were presenting Venture Leaders Boston 2017, I met my first investor,” he recalls. “I will never forget that opportunity.” 

But the roadshows did more than open doors. They showed him what international competition really means. Once you leave Switzerland, the protection disappears. As Carlos puts it, “there is no more the Swiss aura.” You are compared to everyone: US startups, European startups, and Chinese startups. Investors want to know why you, why now, and why this can become big.


 

Ready Before the Opportunity Comes

One of Carlos’ biggest lessons is blunt: fundraising starts before the investor meeting. “Build the company that investors want to fund before you actually meet them,” he says. 

That means having the basics ready: your data room, your numbers, your answers, your market logic, and a clear plan for the next one to two years. Not in theory. Ready. Because opportunities do not announce themselves politely. They appear, and if you are slow, they move on.
 
Every conversation counts. Investors and customers are not only looking at what your company is today. They are testing what it could become. “You are being assessed in every interaction,” Carlos says. That was one of the hard lessons of going global early.
 

Same Company, Different Pitch

Venture Leaders also taught Carlos that one pitch does not work everywhere. In Europe, founders tend to stay measured. They choose their words carefully. In the US, that is not enough. “You need to speak the big game,” he says, because investors are used to companies that think in markets, not borders. 

China was different again. The opportunity can be huge, but Carlos learned that entering China takes muscle. You need the right partner, the right team, and enough capacity not to stretch the company too thin. 

RetinAI also had to educate the market. Before ChatGPT and the AI wave, Carlos spent a lot of time explaining to physicians that AI was not there to replace them. It was there to help them make better decisions. Today, that conversation is easier. Customers are more open. The brand is stronger. Things move faster.

   

Carlos’ Key Lessons for Upcoming Founders

Carlos’ advice to young founders is simple, but not soft: listen to what people tell you and what they do not tell you. Especially the difficult parts. Be authentic. Believe in what you are building. “If you are not authentic and you don’t believe in what you do, why should anybody else?” 

Looking back, he does not pretend it was easy. There was suffering, pressure, and a lot they did not know at the beginning. But he would not change it. “I wouldn’t change a comma,” he says. 

For Carlos, chapter one was about building RetinAI from a “baby company” into a serious player. Chapter two is about taking the technology to a global scale and bringing it closer to patients. And when he looks back at Venturelab, Venture Kick, and the support around the company, his message is direct: “We wouldn’t be here without you.”

Do you want to build your company? Join the upcoming Venture Leaders activities and events to take your company on the global stage.



 

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