Originally published by FinSMEs on May 9, 2023
Optain, a New York-based AI company that uses photos of the eye to detect and prevent early stage disease, raised $12M in Seed funding.
Ascertain, a collaboration between Aegis Ventures and Northwell Holdings to develop healthcare AI companies at scale, made the investment.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and development efforts.
Led by Jeff Dunkel, CEO, Optain provides AI-enabled software and hardware products to noninvasively diagnose eye and systemic health conditions in real-time. Using the eye as a gateway to monitor whole-person health, the company’s AI-enabled portable retinal camera empowers clinicians to screen for over 140 eye and systemic conditions in the early stages of development.
The company’s approach is based on over a decade of research conducted by Professor Mingguang He, a leading researcher at the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research in Australia.
Optain’s roots can be traced back to the Australian-founded company Eyetelligence, which launched in 2019. Eyetelligence is based on the inventions of Professor Mingguang He, a leading clinician-scientist at the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research Australia. The company has developed a suite of clinically validated and regulatory-approved AI products commercialized in the Australian, New Zealand, European, Japanese and Middle Eastern markets. In addition, Eyetelligence’s products are being implemented in two of the largest retail eyecare chains in Australia.