Healthtech startup RedBrick AI has raised $4.6 million as it plans to expand its market for medical image annotations with funding led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia Surge.
Artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous in clinical diagnostics. But researchers need more of their time to prepare data to train AI systems. The training process required hundreds of annotated medical images and thousands of hours of medical personnel explanation. A Delaware-headquartered SaaS startup with its India branch in Pune is solving the problem with its automated and semi-automated annotation tools.
Shivam Sharma, founder and CEO of Redbrick AI, said the startup can make annotations up to 60% faster by using its configurable workflow system that works with medical images such as CT scans, X-rays, MRIs and ultrasounds.
We see ourselves as the foundation of artificial intelligence in healthcare. In the future, we want to help teams with everything from data preparation to clearing FDA algorithms, Sharma said in an interview with TechCrunch.
In the year Founded in 2021 by former SpaceX Hyperloop engineers Sharma and Derek Lukacs (who serve as CTO), RedBrick AI offers unique annotation tools that can be accessed through a web browser and integrated into customer data storage systems such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Azure. It also has semi-automated tools for interpreting complex 3D medical images.
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RedBrick AI also provides APIs that machine learning engineers can integrate with their cloud solutions and clinical data repositories, including hospital enterprise PACS servers.
“Clinicians just need to log into their browser, and the workflow aspect is all automated,” Sharma said.
Once properly interpreted, images can be used to make a faster and more detailed diagnosis. The annotated image can be used by surgical robots and automated cancer detection.
RedBrick AI has a seven-member team based mostly in India, though the startup will focus primarily on the US and Europe to market its tools. The startup follows 99% of the competition from open source tools, followed by in-house builds developed by companies to meet their specific needs.
RedBrick AI’s early customer base includes German biotech startup Orbem, Canadian cancer and disease diagnostics platform Prenuvo, Boston-based nonprofit hospital and medical network Mass General Brigham, and Maharashtra-based radiology AI platform Deeptek.
The all-win seed round saw participation from Y Combinator and angel investors. Ahead of this round, the startup was named among Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 cohort of 32 Indian startups.
According to Sharma, RedBrick AI plans to extend its funding beyond its current customer base to reach enterprises. It also plans to hire new engineers to expand its specialized equipment.
