Imaging artificial intelligence vendor files for $100M IPO
A growing CT imaging artificial intelligence vendor is eyeing an initial public offering that could be worth $100 million.
Heartflow filed necessary documents for the IPO on Thursday following positive news related to its key software. Radiology benefits manager EviCore recently recommended health plans cover its AI software, while the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is proposing to pay for the product beginning in 2026.
Founded in 2007, Heartflow provides a noninvasive cardiac test that creates a personalized 3D model of a patient’s arteries using CT scans. It’s experienced significant financial gains since commercialization in 2015, scoring nearly $126 million in revenue last year, a 44% year-over-year jump.
“We believe the Heartflow platform adds significant value across all the subspecialties that impact cardiovascular care including referring cardiologists, imaging physicians, and interventionalists,” the Mountain View, California, company said in a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission July 17. “We have structured our sales force to efficiently call on these key physician stakeholders, with a primary focus on the imaging physicians who are instrumental in new account adoption and the referring physicians who are critical to driving volume growth at accounts in our installed base.”
As of March 31, the Heartflow platform has been used to assess coronary artery disease in more than 400,000 patients including 132,000 last year alone. Leaders believe it is the most widely adopted AI-powered test for heart disease (with similar products also offered by Cleerly and Elucid). Heartflow estimates the current market opportunity in the U.S. for its products is approximately $5 billion, with about 9.5 million unique stable chest pain patients eligible to undergo its noninvasive diagnostic tests annually.
Based on randomized trial data and other figures, 3.1 million patients are candidates for the Heartflow FFRCT Analysis test—which calculates blood flow and pinpoints clinically significant CAD from CT. At an average U.S. sales price of $1,067, this translates to a market opportunity of $3.3 billion. Another roughly 5.5 million patients are eligible for the Heartflow Plaque Analysis—providing a comprehensive assessment of coronary plaque for devising treatment. At a U.S. sales price of $300, this translates to another $1.7 billion in market opportunity, according to the SEC filing.
“Our value proposition resonates across multiple subspecialties, including radiology, cardiology, and interventional cardiology,” the document states. “Our deep integration into customer workflows and IT infrastructure, including electronic medical record systems, ensures seamless utilization and efficiency. We believe our long-standing customer relationships, continuously improving AI-powered software and the highly embedded nature of our customer integrations will continue to support the rapid adoption of our platform.”
Heartflow posted a quarterly loss of $32.3 million for the three months ending March 31 compared to a $20.9 million loss one year earlier, according to the filing. Its revenue was roughly $37.2 million, up from $26.8 million during the same period in 2024. Heartflow plans to use proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt, fund sales and marketing efforts, along with research and development, and other general corporate purposes.
The company also previously explored going public in 2021 via a $2.4 billion transaction. However, it scrapped the deal citing “unfavorable market conditions” amid the pandemic. It also raised $215 million via a Series F funding round in 2023.
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.