- Brings Eyenuk’s total funding to over $43 million
- Funding round led by AXA IM Alts; joined by T&W Medica A/S, Kendall Capital Partners, and others
- Eyenuk adds three new board members
- Funding affirms Eyenuk’s standing as the global leader among developers of autonomous AI solutions for ophthalmology
Eyenuk, Inc. (“Eyenuk” or “Company”), a global artificial intelligence (AI) digital health company and the leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening™ and AI Predictive Biomarkers™, today announced it has secured $26 million in a Series A financing round, bringing the Company’s total funding to over $43 million. 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 will 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.
“We are thrilled that AXA IM Alts, T&W Medical A/S, A&C Foelsgaard Alternativer ApS, Kendall Capital Partners, and our other new and existing investors have joined us in furthering our mission of using AI to screen every eye in the world to help eliminate preventable vision loss and transition the world to predictive and preventative healthcare,” said Eyenuk CEO and Founder Kaushal Solanki, Ph.D. “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.”
Today’s announcement follows the Sept. 29, 2022 publication of a major peer-reviewed study in Ophthalmology Science, a publication of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The study found that the EyeArt AI system is far more sensitive in identifying referable diabetic retinopathy than dilated eye exams by ophthalmologists and retina specialists.
Eyenuk is leading the way in harnessing the power of AI to eliminate preventable blindness globally, through its versatile digital health platform that enables automated AI diagnosis and coordination of care. Eyenuk’s flagship EyeArt AI system has been more broadly adopted worldwide than any other autonomous AI technology for ophthalmology. 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 and counting. It is 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 US, and has regulatory approvals globally, including CE Marking, Health Canada license, and approvals in multiple markets in Latin America and the Middle East.
AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments with c. €184 billion of assets under management, invested in Eyenuk through its impact investing strategy, aiming to generate through its investments measurable and intentional social outcomes, while delivering long-term competitive financial returns.
“We continue to be very impressed with the Eyenuk team’s accomplishments in developing and broadly commercializing a cost-effective solution to one of the world’s most pressing healthcare concerns—the enormous global burden of preventable vision loss that progresses without any symptoms,” said Zina Affas Besse, PhD, Deputy Head of Healthcare Private Equity for AXA IM Alts. “Our partnership is the perfect example of our aim to deliver tangible impact via our investments around the world alongside significant financial returns.”
The Series A capital raise of $26 million includes the conversion to Series A securities of approximately $6.2 million in convertible notes raised previously.New Board Members
As part of the capital raise, Rob Binney has joined the Eyenuk Board of Directors as the Board’s Chair. Binney is a veteran executive with 25 years of combined senior leadership experience in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Also joining the board are Zina Affas Besse, and Marie-Louise Little, Director of Strategy and Business Development at T&W Medical A/S. The new board members will join existing members Manish Potti and Solanki.
“We at T&W Medical A/S are proud to invest in Eyenuk’s innovative healthcare AI platform, which is fast becoming a global force in the effort to eliminate preventable vision loss,” said Little. “We look forward to supporting the company as it accelerates global market penetration and product development.”
“In my quarter century of leading medical device and pharma companies, I have seldom seen a company as well positioned to dominate a new market as Eyenuk,” said Binney. “The combination of breakthrough technology, exceptional clinical evidence, visionary leadership and the ability to solve one of the biggest problems in global health makes Eyenuk a potential breakout success story. I look forward to helping the team achieve its next phase of commercial growth.”
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