Winterlight Labs Secures $4.23M Series A Funding to Advance AI-Powered Voice Diagnostic Technology for Neurological Disorders

On November 19, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that digital health company Winterlight Labs (Winterlight) announced the completion of a $4.23 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Hikma Ventures, the venture capital arm of generic pharmaceutical company Hikma Pharmaceuticals, with participation from venture capital firms First Star Ventures, Pacific Health Ventures, and Gray Sky Venture Partners.

It is reported that Winterlight will use the funds from this round of financing to continue developing its AI-powered speech diagnostic technology, expanding its applications to schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other neurological indications.

Winterlight, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is a health technology company. The company primarily leverages AI technology to assist healthcare professionals in rapidly and accurately performing speech tagging and assessment, analyzing patients’ cognitive health status, and improving their quality of life.

Winterlight’s AI-powered speech diagnostic technology integrates computational linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, and machine learning to accurately analyze a speaker’s cognitive, auditory, and linguistic states. The analysis covers metrics such as lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, semantic accuracy, and pronunciation correctness. This technology can be used to detect various cognitive and mental conditions in speakers, thereby aiding in the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric disorders such as dementia and aphasia. Furthermore, it effectively monitors patients’ treatment outcomes.

Liam Kaufman, Co-founder and CEO of Winterlight, stated, “We are delighted to participate in this financing round and contribute to improving the quality of life for patients with dementia and other mental disorders. The voice-based diagnostic technology developed by Winterlight will enhance the monitoring, screening, and treatment efficacy assessment of central nervous system disorders, thereby facilitating earlier patient recovery.”

Lana Ghanem, Managing Director of Hikma Ventures, stated, “Through our investment in Winterlight, we recognize the significant potential of speech analytics in the diagnosis, monitoring, and ongoing treatment of various diseases. We hope this financing will help enhance Winterlight’s AI capabilities and expand its scope of application.”

First Star Ventures, established in 2014 and headquartered in Boston, USA, is a venture capital firm. The company is dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge technologies and equipment—such as artificial intelligence (AI), computational biology, and sensors—to address real-world challenges. Since its inception, First Star Ventures has completed 15 investments.

Hikma Ventures, established in August 2015, is the corporate venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in generic medicines. Focusing on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, Hikma Ventures provides startups with expertise and technical guidance, thereby creating value for the market.

Pacific Health Ventures, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, is a venture capital firm. The company focuses on investing in the healthcare technology sector to improve patients' quality of life.

Gray Sky Venture Partners, established in 2016 and headquartered in the western United States, is a venture capital firm. The company is dedicated to identifying and funding outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to innovate healthcare systems through cutting-edge research.

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)