LOS ANGELES—Eyenuk Inc., a global artificial intelligence (AI) medical technology and services company and a leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening, announced Tuesday that it has completed a financing round of $6.2 million led by AXA IM, through AXA IM Alts, a leader in alternative investments with €162 billion of assets under management. Eyenuk’s existing investors also participated in the round, the announcement noted. The EyeArt AI System provides fully automated DR screening, including retinal imaging, DR detection based on international clinical standards and immediate reporting, in a single office visit during a diabetic patient’s regular exam.

Once the patient’s fundus images have been captured and submitted to the EyeArt AI System, the DR detection results are available in a PDF report in less than 30 seconds, according to Eyenuk.

In addition, Eyenuk said it plans to close “a larger round of financing in late 2021 to support its long-term growth and innovation strategies.”

With the recent fundraising, Eyenuk said it will use the proceeds to immediately accelerate commercialization of the EyeArt AI System, which received FDA clearance in 2020 and is being reimbursed by Medicare and other payors.

AXA IM Alts’ investment in Eyenuk is advised by Dr. Zina Affas Besse, managing partner at Global Health Investment Advisors (GHIA), a pioneer in impact investing in life science companies. “We are very impressed with all that the Eyenuk team has accomplished to date,” Dr. Affas Besse said. “We look forward to supporting the company as it accelerates global commercialization and pipeline development programs.”

Added Jonathan Dean, head of impact investing at AXA IM Alts, “We are excited about Eyenuk’s business potential as evidenced by Eyenuk’s impressive business and clinical accomplishments to-date. We are proud to invest in some of the most innovative technologies that address major public health issues worldwide, while searching to generate attractive social and financial returns. Eyenuk’s innovative health care AI technologies aim to deliver tangible impact around the world alongside attractive financial returns.” 

Kaushal Solanki, PhD, founder and CEO of Eyenuk, said the firm was “thrilled” to bring new institutional investors to the Eyenuk team. “We look forward to working with AXA IM Alts and other investors, who share Eyenuk’s vision of creating globally-accessible AI platform technology that can enable drastic reduction of preventable blindness across the world,” Solanki added.

The EyeArt AI System was developed with funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is validated by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS).