AI-Powered Eye-Screening Company Raises $26M for Expansion
Eyenuk Inc., a company focused on real-world applications of artificial intelligence for eye screening and predictive biomarkers has secured $26 million in a Series A financing round, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $43 million.
The Los Angeles-based company said it is seeking to harness the power of AI to eliminate preventable blindness globally, through its digital health platform that enables automated AI diagnosis and coordination of care.
The funding announcement follows the Sept. 29, 2022, publication of a peer-reviewed study in Ophthalmology Science, a publication of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The study found that the EyeArt AI system is more sensitive in identifying referable diabetic retinopathy than dilated eye exams by ophthalmologists and retina specialists.
In a statement, Eyenuk CEO and Founder Kaushal Solanki, Ph.D., said the company’s mission is to use AI to screen every eye in the world to help eliminate preventable vision loss and transition the world to predictive and preventative healthcare. “Our Series A fundraise validates the strong market performance of the EyeArt system and provides us with critical resources as we expand our platform capabilities this year to include solutions for detecting additional diseases,” he added.
Eyenuk’s flagship EyeArt AI system has been more broadly adopted worldwide than any other autonomous AI technology for ophthalmology, the company said. Since its FDA clearance in 2020, the EyeArt system has been used in over 200 locations in 18 countries, including 14 U.S. states, to screen over 60,000 patients. It is in use at Temple University Health, University of Utah Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Illinois Health, Maine Health, and Providence.
The company said it the first and only technology to be cleared by the FDA for autonomous detection of both referable and vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy without any eye care specialist involvement.
The EyeArt system is reimbursed by Medicare in the U.S., and has regulatory approvals globally, including CE Marking, Health Canada license, and approvals in multiple markets in Latin America and the Middle East.
The capital raise was led by AXA IM Alts and was joined by new and existing investors including T&W Medical A/S, A&C Foelsgaard Alternativer ApS, Kendall Capital Partners, and KOFA Healthcare.
Eyenuk said it would use the capital to expand its AI product platform with additional disease indications and advanced care coordination, and to accelerate the platform’s global commercialization and adoption.
