Us2.ai secures US$15 mil Series A to improve detection of cardiovascular disease

• Existing investors, Sequoia India, EDBI & Partech Ventures participated in this round 
• Will use funds to drive clinical implementations, expand commercial activities

Us2.ai announced that it has raised US$15 million (RM63.8 million) in a Series A round led by IHH Healthcare and Heal Partners, with participation from Pappas Capital. Existing investors Sequoia India, EDBI and Partech Ventures, also participated in this round. 

In a statement, the Singapore-based medtech startup said the new funds will be used to drive Us2.ai’s ambitious growth targets for clinical implementation in the US, Europe and Asia, as well as the expansion of commercial activities with leading pharmaceutical companies, research labs, and imaging providers worldwide.

This startup is the developer of FDA-cleared AI software which it claims is the first of its kind to fully automate a complete echocardiography (heart ultrasound) report.

According to James Hare, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Us2.ai, the company’s focus has been to create a comprehensive solution that goes beyond the existing industry standard of partial automation requiring manual intervention and providing limited measurements.  

“Our software automatically processes full echocardiographic studies of 2D and Doppler images from any vendor, in less than two minutes, delivering complete echo reports, with fully explainable measurements, editable annotations and conclusions for every chamber of the heart,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Carolyn Lam, senior consultant Cardiologist at National Heart Centre Singapore, Professor at Duke-National University of Singapore and co-founder of Us2.ai said, “Us2.ai will increase patient access to echocardiography by providing a unique AI solution that completely automates the reading of studies with accuracy comparable to experts.”  

She adds that this reading is done 30 times faster; leaving doctors in full control and with more time to spend with patients.

Us2.ai has completed multiple projects with global pharmaceutical partners as well as a ground breaking approval study at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Its patented software workflow was recently described in Lancet Digital Health, where external validation was demonstrated in large, diverse, real world patient studies globally, the company said. 

IHH managing director and CEO, Dr Kelvin Loh said through investments in innovative digital health companies like Us2.ai, the company seeks to support and make cutting-edge clinical tools and care (in this case AI-powered echocardiogram analysis) more accessible and affordable for patients, and enhance the delivery of care by doctors.  

“This will speed up the diagnosis of heart conditions for the public,” he added.

HEAL Partner, Martin Robinson, said the company is delighted to support the Us2.ai’s mission to automate the fight against cardiovascular disease, the world’s number one killer. 

“We are extremely impressed by the development pace and broad scope of Us2.ai’s leading technology and we look forward to helping it reach its potential for global scale whilst democratising access to this revolutionary tool for the early diagnosis of heart issues.”