Regular updates on the latest VC-backed AI startups. Follow along to stay informed!
Clerkie, a San Francisco-based AI financial planner, raised $33M in Series A funding. Left Lane Capital led the deal with participation from Wellington Management Company, Flourish Ventures, Citi Ventures, CMFG Ventures, and Vestigo Ventures.
Problem to be Solved
The consumer debt market isn’t working. Predatory collection practices and high debt balances burden families, while borrowers and banks are also racking up losses due to delinquency. Clerkie thinks AI can build personalized plans for everyday people to reach their financial goals.
How They Use AI
Clerkie claims to use ML/AI to “recommend smart payment arrangements”, but details are unavailable. Creating a financial plan does not seem like it should require ML, however, perhaps their models attempt to predict human behavior in order to only recommend payments the user might actually choose to make.
Business Model
The financial planning tool is free to use for consumers. Clerkie makes money by negotiating lower debt payments and then taking a fixed or percentage-based fee for repaid debts from the lender (the debt management plan model) or by charging the business a SaaS subscription fee to offer the tool to employees.
Mediwhale, a South Korea-based AI-powered health diagnostics company, raised $9M in Series A funding. SBI Investment led the latest financing with new investor Woori Venture Partners and previous backers BNK Venture Capital, Innopolis Partners, and IPS Ventures participating.
Problem to be Solved
Most people don’t treat cardiovascular, kidney, or eye diseases until they notice symptoms, but early detection is the best prevention. Mediwhale’s retina scan uses AI to flag risks and helps customers take action before symptoms appear.
How They Use AI
Mediwhale’s research portfolio suggests that their diagnostic AI tools are all built on their Reti-CVD deep-learning model. As far as we can tell, each model works by classifying the retinal scan for risk associated with each disease they test for. Their older research mentions convolutional neural networks, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they switched to a transformer-based approach for their current models.
Business Model
Mediwhale sells its hardware device to hospitals and other health clinics. The first few years were focused on research and securing approval from health authorities, but in 2022 the Reti-Eye device was installed in Cheonho public health clinic in Seoul.
Cortical Labs, an Australia-based biotech, raised $10M in Series A funding. Horizon Ventures led the deal, with support from Blackbird Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Radar Ventures, and In-Q-Tel.
Problem to be Solved
Machine learning algorithms are a poor copy of how an organic neural network functions and the silicon chips that power traditional AI technology are rigid and energy intensive. Cortical Labs hopes to unlock new use cases and make AI more sustainable by starting with the human brain and integrating human stem cells with silicon to form a new type of computing chip.
How They Use AI
TBD. Currently, Cortical’s research has successfully embedded human neurons into silicon chips which can simulate playing Pong. They demonstrated that the neurons were able to start learning the game in less than 5 minutes of simulations. This is honestly mind-blowing research. However, they likely have a long road ahead before any real use cases arise.
Business Model
TBD. No one knows what this tech will unlock or how it will make money. Cortical Labs writes “We wonder what it will mean for digital spaces, for robotics, science, personal care. To explore the delineation between the personal mind, the distributed mind, digital and physical realities. To blur those boundaries. We wonder what it means to grow a mind, born of the physical world, but a native of the digital world, where that mind will go, and what it will teach us.” We think this sounds pretty cool.