Airdoc Secures Series D Funding Led by LAV, Lake Bleu Capital, and OrbiMed to Advance AI-Powered Retinal Health Screening

Airdoc, a healthcare AI company, has recently completed its Series D financing round, co-invested by Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV), ClearPool Capital, OrbiMed, and other institutions. The lead investors in this round are all globally leading investment firms specializing in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. The funds raised will be used to continuously increase R&D investment, strengthen marketing promotion and channel development, thereby making high-quality healthcare services accessible to more people.

Airdoc, founded in September 2015, is committed to the early detection of health issues across the general population. Its AI-powered fundus imaging software for auxiliary diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy, developed based on massive datasets, along with its early screening applications for health risk assessment, can identify abnormal indicators of early health risks, helping individuals timely monitor and manage their health status.

Zhang Dalei, Founder and CEO of Airdoc, believes that “health should be a fundamental human right. Coming from Northwest China, I am well aware of the medical conditions in the most grassroots communities, and my own family has experienced misdiagnosis. Through the efforts of myself and my team, I hope to enable every ordinary person to timely and accurately understand their health status; this was the original intention behind founding Airdoc. We have been fortunate to receive substantial support from many shareholders and partners along the way, and we are now closer than ever to achieving this goal.”

In August 2020, Airdoc’s Class III medical device product, the “Fundus Image-Assisted Diagnostic Software for Diabetic Retinopathy,” received marketing approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Since its inception, the company has undertaken multiple national-level major special projects and grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, among other initiatives. It has also received numerous accolades, including the Wu Wenjun Artificial Intelligence Science and Technology Award, the highest honor in intelligent technology in China.

Dr. Shi Yi, Founding Managing Partner of LAV, stated: “Airdoc is a pioneer in the field of AI-based retinal image recognition, boasting strong R&D capabilities and a spirit of innovation. The team members possess extensive experience in artificial intelligence and medicine, encompassing multidisciplinary and comprehensive expertise. We are delighted to participate in this critical phase of the company’s development and will fully support Airdoc in achieving greater success.”

Dr. Li Bin, Founder of Qingchi Capital, stated: “As AI-powered medical diagnostic technologies transition from the laboratory to industrialization, early screening and diagnosis of diseases will usher in a transformative era characterized by high efficiency and broad accessibility. We are delighted to invest in Airdoc, a leading domestic company in this field. Over the past six years, Mr. Lei and his team have persevered in independently developing China’s first AI-assisted retinal diagnostic system. This system holds the promise of detecting more than 50 health risks through retinal AI analysis, carrying significant clinical importance and health economic value for the early detection and timely treatment of various chronic diseases. We look forward to Airdoc actively exploring business models for multi-scenario applications, delivering more convenient and rapid disease prevention and control services to the general population through endpoints such as public hospitals, health examination centers, optometry centers, insurance companies, and retail pharmacies. We are confident that Airdoc will become a successful exemplar of the effective implementation of artificial intelligence in China.”

Ms. Wang Ting, Partner at OrbiMed, stated, “Airdoc’s AI-based retinal health risk assessment system can identify various retinal lesions and detect early health risks in a timely manner. Its developed fundus camera offers the advantages of portability and cost-effectiveness, holding promise for broader coverage of primary healthcare institutions, accelerating the adoption of fundus scanning, and facilitating large-scale disease screening at the grassroots level. We are pleased to support the company’s growth and look forward to Airdoc’s continued use of artificial intelligence to empower precise diagnosis, promote AI-powered fundus screening in primary care settings, and benefit a wider population.”

Zhang Dalei stated that this financing is of significant importance, and Airdoc will continue to increase its R&D investment as always, consistently providing the society with higher-quality, more user-friendly, and more accessible services.

Airdoc was founded in September 2015 and is headquartered in Beijing. As of the end of January 2020, the company had established subsidiaries and R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.

Airdoc is a global leader and pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) for retinal imaging. Leveraging AI-based recognition of retinal images, multimodal data analysis, and deep learning algorithms, the company provides solutions for early detection, diagnosis, and health risk assessment. These innovations transform traditional approaches to the early detection and diagnosis of chronic diseases, enabling non-invasive, precise, rapid, cost-effective, and large-scale diagnosis and related health risk assessments in medical institutions and healthcare service providers.

In August 2020, Airdoc’s AI-assisted diagnostic software for diabetic retinopathy based on fundus images received marketing approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). It was the first product in its category to obtain a Class III medical device certificate from the NMPA, thereby initiating its deployment in hospitals across China to assist physicians and alleviate their diagnostic workload. To address unmet healthcare needs, the company has developed a robust pipeline of AI-powered retinal imaging products, which have been widely adopted in community clinics, health examination centers, insurance companies, optometry centers, and pharmacies, providing users with auxiliary disease diagnosis and health risk assessment.