SA med-tech company AI Diagnostics raised $5.2 M to expedite AI-powered TB screening
In order to advance the use of its proprietary hardware and AI software in the fight against the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, South African med-tech company AI Diagnostics has raised ZAR85 million (US $5.2 million).
AI Diagnostics, a Cape Town-based company founded in 2020, creates early screening tools that are easily accessible and empower healthcare professionals. The AI-powered Ostium digital stethoscope is its flagship product.The TB AI model is a low-cost solution that eliminates the need for specialized infrastructure or equipment, making TB screening simple and accessible for frontline healthcare professionals.
In order to support clinical research and validation, ongoing product and AI model development, and the operational infrastructure needed to scale a medical device business in South Africa as well as emerging markets throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the company has now raised ZAR85 million (US$5.2 million).
The iFSP Group, Global Innovation Fund, and important early angel investors participated in the round, which was headed by The Steele Foundation for Hope. Savant and Africa Health Ventures were involved in earlier rounds.
“We back technical entrepreneurs who are closest to the problems they’re solving, and AI Diagnostics is a clear example of why that matters,” said Joe Exner, CEO of The Steele Foundation for Hope. “They’ve built novel hardware: an AI-enabled digital stethoscope that detects TB through lung sound analysis with point-of-care accuracy that simply wasn’t possible before. In communities without X-ray infrastructure or specialist clinicians, this puts real diagnostic capability in the hands of nurses and community health workers.”
AI Diagnostics was created in response to the need to provide frontline healthcare professionals with tools that, by addressing issues at their root, make healthcare more affordable and accessible for both patients and providers.
“The AI model flags individuals whose lung sounds have signals associated with TB in real time so healthcare providers can refer them for diagnostic testing immediately,” said Braden van Breda, CEO of AI Diagnostics. “For health systems trying to close the detection gap, this changes the availability and the geography of screening.”
AI Diagnostics has screened over 1,000 South African patients and is approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). Currently, the company is conducting clinical research in over ten Asian and African nations.
