Medical AI startup AIRS Medical from South Korea has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round participated by its new investors Q Capital Partners and Hanwha Life and its existing investor Klim Ventures.
WHAT IT DOES
AI-based diagnostic tests and other robotic technologies improve the experience for both patients and doctors at the startup formed in 2018.
Last year, more than 130,000 MRI exams used the AI-powered SwiftMR software in South Korea. The software is an MRI reconstruction tool that improves images and is approved by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the US Food and Drug Administration. Its previous version, SwiftCore, won the first prize at Stanford Medicine X in 2015.
AIIV is an automated venipuncture tool being developed by AIRS Medical. It is currently being tested in clinical settings in South Korea.
In March, Google bought another South Korean AI company called artiQ. Since then, they have added diagnosing things in the lab to their technology skills.
WHAT IT’S FOR
AIRS Medical has been using the help of Born2Global startup accelerator and the KOSME-MATTER US Market Adoption Program to expand into Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Their latest funding is going to these global expansion efforts, as stated in a press release.
CEO Hye-Seong Lee said that through the Series B funding they have received, they will be taking their innovative diagnostic solutions worldwide.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
VUNO is a company that provides medical imaging AI solutions, and was the first to go public in South Korea. It raised $33.6 million in its initial offering last year, and since then has gotten approval from various regulatory agencies, as well as partnerships to expand its offerings.
This July, Lunit debuted on the stock exchange of the Korea Exchange with $37 million raised. Before its IPO, the company had been signing contracts to take its AI radiology solutions out into the world.
Last year, the global market for AI in healthcare was valued at $6.9 billion. By 2027, the market is expected to be worth $67 billion, growing at a CAGR of 46%.
