Eyenuk received $25 million in Series A funding to expand access to its AI-powered eye-screening technology that enables autonomous detection of diabetic retinopathy (DR) during a patient's regular exam.

The recent raise was led by AXA IM Alts and joined by new and existing investors, including A&C Foelsgaard Alternativer ApS, T&W Medical A/S, KOFA Healthcare and Kendall Capital Partners. It brings the company's total funding to $43 million.

The Series A raise includes approximately $6.2 million previously raised in convertible notes converted to Series A securities.

WHAT IT DOES

The company's EyeArt AI software, which received 510(k) clearance from the FDA in 2020, allows for autonomous DR screening, including retinal imaging, DR detection and immediate reporting during a patient's regular examination. After the patient's fundus images are captured and submitted to EyeArt, results are provided via a PDF report in less than 30 seconds.

The announcement follows a study published in September in Ophthalmology Science where researchers compared general ophthalmologists, Eyenuk's EyeArt Artificial Intelligence (AI) system and retina specialists for detecting more than mild DR (mtmDR). Results showed the AI system had higher sensitivity for detecting mtmDR than general ophthalmologists or retina specialists. 

Eyenuk will use the recently garnered Series A funds to expand its AI product platform with additional disease indications and accelerate the company's global commercialization. 

MARKET SNAPSHOT

In August, AI-enabled diagnostics company Digital Diagnostics, formerly IDx, which also offers an AI-backed eye care system to detect diabetic retinopathy, announced it scored $75 million in a Series B funding.

Its IDx-DR system detects diabetic retinopathy, which can cause vision loss and blindness in people with diabetes. The IDx-DR product received FDA De Novo clearance in 2018. 

Google has also been exploring using AI for diagnostics in developing its product for detecting diabetic retinopathy called Automated Retinal Disease Assessment (ARDA). In March, the tech giant provided updates on its healthcare tools, noting it would continue research on ARDA to determine whether photos of the outside of the eye could detect disorders.