AI Startup Altris AI Raises $1M to Tackle Blindness with AI Diagnostics

AI startup Altris AI has announced that it has raised €930K in a seed round led by Runa Capital. The funding will help the startup to scale its AI-powered eye pathology detection solution.

Altris AI is developing an AI platform that assists eye care professionals in fighting blindness. The platform can detect over 100 pathologies, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma or choroidal nevus.

Maria Znamenska and Andrey Kuropyatnyk founded Altris AI. Maria is a full-time ophthalmologist, a Ph.D. in Ophthalmology, and the owner of the ophthalmic clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine. Andrey has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is an experienced IT Management consultant with solid experience in this area.

Altris AI, which is a US-based startup originally from Ukraine, is building solutions for the $58 billion global ophthalmology market.

Joint Journey, Pharmaceutical Company Farmak, Artesian, Brinc Limited, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Chicago Booth Angels also participated in the round.

Over 1 billion people with preventable blindness conditions, such as glaucoma, late AMD and others, because of low access to the proper diagnostics and treatment. However, the world faces a shortage of optometrists: there are just 331,000 available professionals versus the 14 million that are needed, according to estimates by the World Economic Forum.

We are convinced that blindness can be prevented since it’s predictable.

Our core motivation is to develop the most accurate and powerful tool we are able to.

We are happy to have the support of a group of VCs that share our values of applying technology for global healthcare.

said Andrey Kuropyatnyk, Founder and CEO of Altris AI.

AI can assist optometrists more efficiently due to the technology’s ability to identify, localize, and quantify pathologies and pathological signs in almost every disease of the macula and retina. 

Altris AI developed a SaaS platform based on 5 million OCT scans that detected and interpreted more than 100 pathologies and pathological signs. These include age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and choroidal nevus.

Altris AI provides an AI-powered medical image management platform installed in more than 30 clinics. The company also has a free educational mobile app with over 11,000 active users among ophthalmologists and optometrists. Altris AI already partners with global OCT distributors and equipment manufacturers such as Topcon Healthcare, Optopol, and Huvitz. 

Healthcare is one of the most attractive applications for AI.

With recent advances in machine learning, the vast volumes of data gathered in this industry will power the solutions that will assist medical professionals everyday.

Arming doctors and clinicians with reliable and abundant diagnostics is the first step towards conquering a $58 billion global market.

said Michael Fanfant, Palo Alto-based General Partner at Runa Capital.