Segmed, a startup that gathers medical imaging data for AI development, raises $10M
Segmed Inc., a startup that gathers medical imaging data to help fuel AI development, has raised $10.4 million in new capital, leaders announced Tuesday.
Toronto VC firm iGan Partners and 67-hospital Advocate Health led the Series A financing round with participation from other investors. Founded in 2017, the Stanford, California, company helps streamline access to imaging studies to advance the development of AI tools and biopharmaceuticals. Segmed acquires, de-identifies, standardizes and provides imaging data to researchers and innovators via its proprietary platform.
"We founded Segmed five years ago to improve patient outcomes by revolutionizing medical imaging research," CEO and Co-founder Martin Willemink said in a statement. "We are thrilled to have the continued support from investors like iGan Partners and Y Combinator, as well as the addition of clinical powerhouses like Advocate Health and Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their expertise and experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop cutting-edge solutions for the future.”
Segmed will use the money to further expand its footprint in healthcare AI, along with bringing imaging data to the biopharmaceutical and life sciences space. The company boasts a network of leading healthcare providers, sharing imaging information that can be linked with other data types. As of Tuesday, the Segmed has partnered with “thousands” of healthcare locations and imaging centers across five continents. Segmed technology also allows clients to access, de-identify, standardize and build cohorts of imaging data “within their own environment.”
"We're driven to advance the science of medicine,” Emilie McKenna, MBA, managing director of strategic development and investment at Advocate Health, said in the same announcement. “To that end, our team is dedicated to developing the most comprehensive provider-based research data set in the country. We look forward to supporting Segmed in the shared goal of unlocking imaging data to accelerate medical research."
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.