Eyenuk secures $26 Million Series A funding to accelerate global access to AI-powered eye-screening technology

Eyenuk 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.

According to a news release, 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,” Eyenuk CEO and Founder Kaushal Solanki, PhD, said in a statement. “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.”

According to the company, a recent study¹ found that the EyeArt AI system is far more sensitive in identifying referable diabetic retinopathy than dilated eye exams by ophthalmologists and retina specialists.

The company also noted in its release that it is using the power of AI to eliminate preventable blindness globally, through its digital health platform that enables automated AI diagnosis and coordination of care.

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 long-term 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 previously raised.

Reference

1. Jennifr Lim, MD; Carl D. Regillio, MD; SriniVas R. Sadda, MD; Chaithanya Ramachandra, PhD; Kaushai Solanki, PhD; et.al. Artificial Intelligence Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy: Subgroup Comparison of the EyeArt System with Ophthalmologists’ Dilated Exams. Ophthalmol.Sci. Published Sept. 29, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xops.2022.100228.