Eyenuk secures $26 Million Series A funding to accelerate global access to AI-powered eye-screening technology

USA - English

• USA - English

• Brings Eyenuk's total funding to over $43 million
• Funding round led by AXA IM Alts; joined by T&W Medica A/S, Kendall Capital Partners, and others
• Eyenuk adds three new board members
• Funding affirms Eyenuk's standing as the global leader among developers of autonomous AI solutions for ophthalmology

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyenuk, Inc. ("Eyenuk" or "Company"), a global artificial intelligence (AI) digital health company and the leader in real-world applications for AI Eye Screening™ and AI Predictive Biomarkers™, today announced it has secured $26 million in a Series A financing round, bringing the Company's total funding to over $43 million. The capital raise was led by AXA IM Alts and was joined by new and existing investors including T&W Medical A/S, A&C Foelsgaard Alternativer ApS, Kendall Capital Partners, and KOFA Healthcare.

Eyenuk will use the capital to expand its AI product platform with additional disease indications and advanced care coordination, and to accelerate the platform's global commercialization and adoption.

"We are thrilled that AXA IM Alts, T&W Medical A/S, A&C Foelsgaard Alternativer ApS, Kendall Capital Partners, and our other new and existing investors have joined us in furthering our mission of using AI to screen every eye in the world to help eliminate preventable vision loss and transition the world to predictive and preventative healthcare," said Eyenuk CEO and Founder Kaushal Solanki, Ph.D. "Our Series A fundraise validates the strong market performance of the EyeArt® system and provides us with critical resources as we expand our platform capabilities this year to include solutions for detecting additional diseases."

Today's announcement follows the Sept. 29, 2022 publication of a major peer-reviewed study in Ophthalmology Science, a publication of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The study found that the EyeArt AI system is far more sensitive in identifying referable diabetic retinopathy than dilated eye exams by ophthalmologists and retina specialists.

Eyenuk is leading the way in harnessing the power of AI to eliminate preventable blindness globally, through its versatile digital health platform that enables automated AI diagnosis and coordination of care. Eyenuk's flagship EyeArt AI system has been more broadly adopted worldwide than any other autonomous AI technology for ophthalmology. Since its FDA clearance in 2020, the EyeArt system has been used in over 200 locations in 18 countries, including 14 U.S. states, to screen over 60,000 patients and counting. It is the first and only technology to be cleared by the FDA for autonomous detection of both referable and vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy without any eye care specialist involvement.

The EyeArt system is reimbursed by Medicare in the US, and has regulatory approvals globally, including CE Marking, Health Canada license, and approvals in multiple markets in Latin America and the Middle East.

AXA IM Alts, a global leader in alternative investments with c. €184 billion of assets under management, invested in Eyenuk through its impact investing strategy, aiming to generate through its investments measurable and intentional social outcomes, while delivering long-term competitive financial returns.

"We continue to be very impressed with the Eyenuk team's accomplishments in developing and broadly commercializing a cost-effective solution to one of the world's most pressing healthcare concerns—the enormous global burden of preventable vision loss that progresses without any symptoms," said Zina Affas Besse, PhD, Deputy Head of Healthcare Private Equity for AXA IM Alts. "Our partnership is the perfect example of our aim to deliver tangible impact via our investments around the world alongside significant financial returns."

The Series A capital raise of $26 million includes the conversion to Series A securities of approximately $6.2 million in convertible notes raised previously.

As part of the capital raise, Rob Binney has joined the Eyenuk Board of Directors as the Board's Chair. Binney is a veteran executive with 25 years of combined senior leadership experience in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Also joining the board are Zina Affas Besse, and Marie-Louise Little, Director of Strategy and Business Development at T&W Medical A/S.  The new board members will join existing members Manish Potti and Solanki.

"We at T&W Medical A/S are proud to invest in Eyenuk's innovative healthcare AI platform, which is fast becoming a global force in the effort to eliminate preventable vision loss," said Little. "We look forward to supporting the company as it accelerates global market penetration and product development."

"In my quarter century of leading medical device and pharma companies, I have seldom seen a company as well positioned to dominate a new market as Eyenuk," said Binney. "The combination of breakthrough technology, exceptional clinical evidence, visionary leadership and the ability to solve one of the biggest problems in global health makes Eyenuk a potential breakout success story. I look forward to helping the team achieve its next phase of commercial growth."

AXA IM Alts is a global leader in alternative investments with c. €184 billion of assets under management[1] comprising c.€88 billion of primarily private real estate, over €85 billion of private debt and alternative credit, as well as over €11 billion in Infrastructure, private equity and hedge funds. We take a 360° approach to real estate & infrastructure investing with over €131 billion of assets under management in direct opportunities, held indirectly through debt and listed equities and via long term private equity investments into operating platforms. ESG is fully integrated into our investment decision making processes with our responsible investment approach anchored by the three key pillars of decarbonisation, resilience and building tomorrow. AXA IM Alts employs over 800 people located in 17 offices around the world and serves the needs of more than 500 clients from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East. We are the number one property portfolio and asset manager in Europe[2], and one of the largest worldwide.
1 Source: AXA IM Alts data (unaudited) as of 30 June 2022.
2 Source: IPE Top 150 Real Estate Investment Managers, November/December 2021. #1 real estate investment manager in Europe based on total European real estate assets under management.

Eyenuk, Inc. is a global artificial intelligence (AI) digital health company and the leader in real-world AI Eye Screening™ for autonomous disease detection and AI Predictive Biomarkers™ for risk assessment and disease surveillance. Eyenuk is on a mission to screen every eye in the world to ensure timely diagnosis of life- and vision-threatening diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, stroke risk, cardiovascular risk, and Alzheimer's disease. Find Eyenuk online on its website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

The EyeArt AI System provides fully autonomous diabetic retinopathy (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.  

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). In addition to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance, the EyeArt AI System has CE marking as a class 2a medical device in the European Union and a Health Canada license. It is designed to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) compliant. 

The EyeArt AI System is reimbursable by government and private payors in the U.S. under the newly created Category 1 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 92229.  

Learn more about the EyeArt AI System for Autonomous Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy by watching this video.

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Todd Stein
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SOURCE Eyenuk