Investment firm acquires AI platform Blackford Analysis from Bayer
Aspen, Colorado-based investment firm Sopris Capital is acquiring Blackford Analysis from Bayer, the two announced Friday.
Founded in 2010, Blackford launched the imaging industry’s first artificial intelligence-orchestration platform in 2016. Since then, it’s become a “trusted infrastructure partner” for radiology departments looking to evaluate, deploy and manage imaging AI applications at scale.
Bayer acquired Blackford in early 2023 for an undisclosed sum, as the pharmaceutical giant sought to improve the lives of patients by “unlocking the benefits of medical imaging AI.” However, Bayer reportedly pivoted from the platform business last year, redirecting resources to other high-growth market segments.
"Blackford has spent over a decade building the infrastructure that healthcare AI depends on, and this acquisition reflects our conviction in that vision," Abinav Sankar, managing partner at Sopris Capital, said in a statement Oct. 9. "As we continue to build out a healthcare technology portfolio focused on connected, longitudinal patient care, Blackford gives us a critical foothold at the very beginning of that journey, the moment an image is captured and analyzed.”
Sopris said it is in the process of combining Blackford Analysis with Azra AI, one of its top-performing portfolio companies. This next step is expected to be completed in the coming days and weeks. Blackford, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, will operate as a separate legal entity following the deal. It will continue to serve existing partners and health system clients with no anticipated interruptions to current deployments or operations, Sopris said.
The Blackford Platform now boasts a portfolio of over 130 AI applications from 45 partner vendors. Its goal is to give health systems a single, vendor-neutral way of bringing the “best of breed AI” into imaging workflows without disrupting clinical operations.
Azra AI, meanwhile, is a leading healthcare AI platform built to identify, connect and manage patients with cancer and other complex illnesses. The product seeks to ensure patients stay “on the right path from suspicion through survivorship.” Sopris believes Blackford’s capabilities will allow Azra AI to “go even further upstream” with its customers. The investment group said the Blackford acquisition reflects its continued interest in AI-enabled healthcare technology and a broader thesis around supporting connected, longitudinal patient care.
“Joining Sopris Capital creates an exciting opportunity to accelerate Blackford's growth and extend the reach of our platform," James Holroyd, Blackford’s managing director, said in the announcement. "With Sopris' support and complementary healthcare technology portfolio, we can both broaden and deepen our work with customers, channel partners and AI vendors while continuing to make the adoption of medical imaging AI simpler, scalable and more effective."
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.