Radiology AI vendor Lunit completes acquisition of rival Volpara for $193M
South Korean radiology artificial intelligence vendor Lunit recently completed its acquisition of rival company Volpara Health Technologies for $193 million, the two said May 22.
Lunit first announced the deal in December and was able to complete the entire transaction in less than eight months. Based in Seoul, Lunit called the acquisition a “significant milestone” in its “mission to conquer cancer through AI.”
“By combining our strengths, we are creating a formidable alliance in the industry, particularly in the U.S. market,” Lunit CEO Brandon Suh said in an announcement. “This merger enables us to develop and deliver innovative, life-saving solutions that meet critical needs in cancer diagnostics.”
Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Volpara offers software for the early detection of cancer. The strategic move comes after Lunit conducted an “exhaustive” evaluation of possible ways to grow further, leaders said last year. Lunit, meanwhile, was founded in 2013, with its flagship Insight suite cleared by regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Europe and used by over 3,000 hospitals and other institutions in 40 countries. In pursuing the deal, Suh highlighted Volpara’s “robust” repository of over 100 million medical images, which could “supercharge” its capabilities and pave the way for “groundbreaking” new solutions.
Lunit said the combined companies will initially focus on breast cancer. However, the two have committed to broadening their offerings to address a wider range of cancers and other medical conditions.
"This merger represents an exciting opportunity to enhance our impact on global healthcare,” Teri Thomas, CEO of Volpara, said in the same announcement. “Together, we aim to set new standards in cancer diagnostics and drive forward advancements that will benefit healthcare providers and patients globally,” she added later.
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.