- Rad AI, a company that is transforming radiology with the latest advances in technology, announced it raised $4 million in a seed funding round
Rad AI — a startup that is transforming radiology with the latest advances in technology — announced it has raised $4 million in a seed round of funding led by Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence focused fund launched by Google.
UP2398, Precursor Ventures, GMO Venture Partners, Array Ventures, Hike Ventures, Fifty Years VC, and several angels also joined the round.
Rad AI co-founder Dr. Jeff Chang started college at age 13 and med school at age 16. And he is the youngest radiology and second youngest doctor on record in the U.S. Plus Dr. Chang has also been educated in artificial intelligence from University of Edinburgh, a Dev Bootcamp with Ruby on Rails and JavaScript, and received an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles – The Anderson School of Management. The idea for Rad AI came together when Dr. Chang was troubled by high error rates, radiologist burnout, and the rising imaging demand despite a worsening shortage of US radiologists.
When Dr. Chang met serial entrepreneur Doktor Gurson, they launched Rad AI in 2018 at the intersection of radiology and artificial intelligence. The service was built by radiologists, for radiologists. And Rad AI is transforming the field of radiology with the inside perspective as its driving force.
“Radiology is facing severe pressures that range from falling reimbursements to market consolidation. There is also a radiologist shortage that is exacerbated by rising imaging volumes nationwide. We help radiology groups significantly increase productivity while reducing radiologist burnout and improving report accuracy. By working closely with radiologists, we can make a positive impact on patient care,” said Dr. Chang.
Rad AI utilizes state-of-the-art machine learning to automate repetitive tasks for radiologists so they have more time to focus on what matters: accurate and timely diagnosis for patients. And the first product automatically generates the impression section of radiology reports, customized specifically to the preferred language of each radiologist.
Some of the initial customers have shown a significant reduction in radiologist burnout, error rates, and turnaround time — which improves radiologists’ well-being and patient care.
When Rad AI’s current partners include Greensboro Radiology, Medford Radiology, Einstein Healthcare Network, and Bay Imaging Consultants — one of the largest private radiology groups in the United States — as well as other radiology groups that have yet to be announced. And product rollouts have demonstrated an average of 20% time savings on the interpretation of CTs and 15% time savings on radiographs, which translates into an hour a day saved for each radiologist.
With this round of funding, Rad AI will build out its engineering team and also expand the rollout of its first product to more radiology groups and customers.
“The team at Rad AI is uniquely suited to apply innovative technology to this field, with strong radiology and AI experts and firsthand knowledge of this market. It’s exciting to see the quantitative benefits and positive feedback from their radiology customers, and we’re looking forward to the impact of their future products,” added Gradient Ventures partner Zachary Bratun-Glennon.
