EDINBURGH, Scotland & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--snap40, an AI-enabled healthcare company with the mission to protect the health of every human being, today announced it has secured US $8 million in seed financing led by ADV, with participation from MMC Ventures. Total funding to date is US $10 million, and the latest investment is the largest seed financing round for a digital healthcare company in the U.K. snap40 monitors the human body in real-time using its wearable device, with accuracy equivalent to ICU monitoring. Using this real-time data, the company’s proprietary algorithms identify those whose health is at risk and proactively bring healthcare to them. Initially, snap40 is deploying this with top healthcare providers in the U.K. and the U.S.
Joining ADV and MMC Ventures, private investors who participated in the round include notable industry leaders and executives Gordon Craig, co-founder of Craneware; Gareth Williams, founder of Skyscanner; and Qasar Younis, the former chief operating officer of Y Combinator and founder of TalkBin. snap40 also will benefit from the continued support of existing investors Par Equity and the Scottish Investment Bank. The investment will accelerate snap40’s expansion into the U.S., where it has clinical trials and pilots with leading hospitals and institutions looking to identify acutely and chronically deteriorating patients earlier, in order to reduce risk and cost while improving patient health.
snap40 offers a complete, automated picture of human health. Using a wearable device, the company monitors individuals during and after hospital admissions, as well as for chronic health conditions and in clinical trials. According to initial clinical trials, snap40’s proprietary AI algorithms provide awareness of acute or chronic patient deterioration earlier than standard care. In addition, snap40’s continuous and automated approach provides insights to doctors and nurses about health behaviors that might go unnoticed in today’s healthcare environments, offering improved workflows, reduced stress and better systems of care for everyone.
Mike Dimelow, chief investment officer at ADV, said, “Human life is precious. Monitoring, protecting and improving health is of importance to all corners of society. snap40 addresses that through a wearable device with smart technology built-in that allows us to identify human health risks with incredible accuracy. We see this evolving into an AI-driven platform on which snap40 and others can use and process health data from wearable products of the future, to identify sickness and disease patterns. The quality of the founding team, angel investors and progress to date have made us really excited about the potential here to redefine health monitoring and extend its reach well beyond hospital walls.”
snap40’s HIPAA-compliant and secure mobile technology is designed to alleviate the stress and risks doctors and nurses face when administering care, eliminating the manual approaches that hinder them. For patients, the device monitors vital signs and other data to determine which patients will become ill and how, enabling earlier medical intervention and fewer hospital readmissions. Today, this costs U.S. hospitals more than $40 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates.
“With our society growing older and larger, in the coming years we will see AI fundamentally reshape how healthcare is delivered,” said David Kelnar, partner and head of research at MMC Ventures. “snap40 is an excellent example of how AI is moving ‘beyond the hype’ – the company’s robust application of AI is solving an important real-world problem, augmenting the efforts of healthcare staff and helping save lives. We’re excited to support Chris, Stewart and the rest of the team as the business expands and brings their technology to new markets.”
With an office in New York and headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland, snap40 plans to more than double its headcount by the end of 2018, hiring in all areas with a focus on candidates who believe in using technology to save lives and improve healthcare. The snap40 team, led by co-founders Christopher McCann and Stewart Whiting, is comprised of Ph.D.s, healthcare professionals, data scientists and engineering experts hailing from companies including Apple, Microsoft, Skyscanner, Space Labs and FanDuel, as well as leading AI research groups.
Christopher McCann, snap40 CEO and co-founder, said, “As a medical student, I witnessed patients live with long-term disability or die as a result of late recognition of their deteriorating health. This is where technology can make a difference. It’s a moral imperative to use all of our knowledge in science and technology to improve healthcare – that’s why Stewart and I founded snap40. Using AI to recognize illness earlier and enable earlier treatment can save lives, and it can prepare our healthcare system for the future.”
About snap40
Human life is precious, and snap40’s
mission is to protect it globally through the application of artificial
intelligence to real-time data. Through its wearable device, snap40
offers a complete picture of human health, enabling the detection of
patient deterioration and illnesses earlier for proactive healthcare.
The company’s team of Ph.Ds, research scientists, healthcare executives
and engineers are united by a common goal to save lives and improve
healthcare delivery. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland with an office
in New York, snap40 is venture backed by investors ADV, MMC Ventures and
others. For more information, visit http://www.snap40.com.
About ADV
ADV is a patient venture investment engine. Its
team are entrepreneurs and operators who have learnt the hard lessons
and want to pay them forward. Currently investing £150M, ADV takes the
long view of business building, investing across the funding lifecycle
of startups, scaleups and ‘scalebigs.’ ADV champions the innovators -
the people who build complex, technical, generation-defining businesses.
ADV’s investors are British Business Bank, Legal & General and Woodford
Investment Management.
Say hello at www.accelerated.ventures | @AcceleratedDV
About MMC Ventures
MMC Ventures is a research-led venture
capital firm. Founded in 2000, the firm has backed more than 50
high-growth technology companies from the Seed and Series A stage. MMC
focuses on scaling enterprise software and consumer internet companies
with the potential to disrupt huge markets. Based in London, the firm
has c. £220 million under management and is investing more than £30
million annually.
Companies MMC has backed include; APEXX, Bloom & Wild, DigitalGenius,
Echo, Elder, Gousto, Interactive Investor, NewVoiceMedia, Masabi, Opal,
Peak, Signal Media, SafeGuard, Senseye, Sky-Futures and StorageOS.
www.mmcventures.com
@MMC_Ventures
MMC
Writes.
