Imaging tech startup led by Apple alumni raises $9M, hires radiologist as new CMO
A Silicon Valley imaging technology startup has raised $9 million in new funding, along with hiring a board-certified radiologist as its new chief medical officer.
Braid Health, which creates artificial intelligence tools for rads, announced its latest cash infusion on Thursday. Lux Capital provided the lion’s share of this seed contribution, with two other private firms also chipping in.
New York City-based Lux said it was drawn to Braid because it fits the investment firm’s mold of targeting the “outermost edges of what is possible.”
"[CEO] Kevin Quennesson and [Chief Product Officer] Alessandro Sabatelli founded Braid Health to challenge the status quo in medical imaging and diagnostics at a time when a growing aging population is straining the ability of teleradiology firms and urgent care centers to meet patient demand,” Zavain Dar, a Lux Capital partner and Braid Health board member, said in a statement.
The two aforementioned former Apple and Twitter engineers/designers founded Braid in 2018, with the goal of better serving providers and patients in imaging. On April 29, the San Francisco firm also announced the appointment of Rajni Natesan, MD, MBA, as its new CMO. Her background includes stints as an assistant professor of diagnostic radiology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and co-president and CMO at QT Ultrasound, where she handled new FDA clearances.
"Dr. Natesan brings to Braid Health a dynamic combination of medical imaging expertise and solid business leadership experience," Quennesson said in a statement last month. "Based on her professional track record, academic research and financial acumen, she will play a key role in accelerating our ability to bring to market solutions that improve access to medical expertise for patients around the world."
The company said it plans to use the $9 million investment to build out its team, further build out its AI-driven imaging diagnostic platform, and work on its Braid Network tool that would connect a “virtual network of specialists.
The Wall Street Journal also profiled Braid Health and its efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in a May 7 news story.
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.