A slate of corporates have emerged as additional participants in a ¥4.6bn ($42.9m) series B round for Japan-based endoscopic technology developer AI Medical Service, according to The Bridge.
The round includes Japan Post Capital, Aflac Ventures and SMBC Venture Capital – respective corporate venturing units for postal carrier Japan Post, medical insurance company Aflac and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Daiwa Corporate Investment, a subsidiary of investment bank Daiwa Securities, also participated alongside semiconductor producer Ryoyo Electro, medical device producer Japan Lifeline, asset management company Sparx Group and an angel investor.
The deal was originally unveiled in October 2019 with contributions from Globis Capital Partners, an investment unit for education provider Globis, and Innovation Growth Ventures, a vehicle launched by consumer electronics firm Sony’s Innovation Fund and Daiwa Securities in July this year.
The original participants were rounded off by venture capital World Innovation Lab and then-undisclosed additional participants.
Founded in 2017, AI Medical Service hopes to launch an artificial intelligence-powered software engine that would assist the diagnosis of gastric cancer endoscopies – where a tube is inserted into the patient’s digestive tract to look for signs of the disease.
AI Medical’s software will apply deep-learning convolutional neural networks to evaluate thousands of high-definition endoscopic images, uncovering cancerous lesions missed with conventional technology.
The cash injection will go toward setting up clinical trials and recruiting additional team members, as AI Medical aims to progress its endoscopy software to regulatory approval and create new concepts based on similar technology.
AI Medical has now raised about $57m in total, including more than $9m secured from VC firm Incubate Fund in August 2018.