Iterative Scopes Secures $5.2M Seed Funding to Advance AI-Powered Colonoscopy Software Clinical Trials

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on January 15, 2020, Iterative Scopes, a U.S.-based AI company specializing in gastroenterology, announced the completion of a $5.2 million seed funding round. The round was led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Tau Ventures, p5hv, several family office funds, and Okta co-founder Freddie Kerrest.

Iterative Scopes plans to use the funds from this round of financing to conduct clinical trials for its colonoscopy visual technology software in 2020 and further commercialize the technology.

Iterative Scopes, established in October 2017 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a pure-software gastrointestinal data company dedicated to applying artificial intelligence toolkits to gastroenterology practice to provide customers with actionable insights. The company spun out from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in 2017 and collaborates with more than 40 medical centers and hospitals to develop physician-centric healthcare models.

It is reported that in the United States, colorectal cancer has the second-highest incidence rate among all cancers and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Colonoscopy can detect and prevent colorectal cancer. Traditional polypectomy techniques during colonoscopy may lead to missed lesions due to inadequate visualization; these overlooked polyps or cancerous cells can metastasize, resulting in late-stage diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The clinical detection tool developed by Iterative Scopes combines machine learning and computer vision technologies to assist physicians in performing more accurate colonoscopies and removing polyps under visual guidance on a display screen.

Amit Garg, Managing Partner at Tau Ventures, stated, “We invested in Iterative Scopes because they impressed us by identifying a market with substantial demand, assembling an execution-focused team, and developing differentiated computer vision tools.”

Jonathan Ng, CEO of Iterative Scopes, stated, “We are delighted to enter the next phase of development alongside our all-star team and investors. We are delivering a portfolio of products for gastrointestinal endoscopic detection, working closely with physicians to improve patient outcomes.”

Wavemaker Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2003, with headquarters in Los Angeles and Singapore. The firm manages over $335 million in assets and has invested in more than 300 companies.

Tau Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, founded in 2019 and focused on investing in digital health, automation, and other sectors.

(Compiled by Yang Xiaohui)