Eko Secures $20 Million Series B Funding to Advance AI-Powered Cardiac Screening Platform

On September 27, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that digital health company Eko had completed a $20 million Series B financing round. The round was led by ARTIS Ventures, with participation from DigiTx Partners, NTT Venture Capital, 3M Ventures, and XTX Ventures.

Eko plans to use the proceeds from this financing round to further advance the research and development and commercialization of its machine learning platform for cardiac screening and analysis.

According to statistical data from the American Heart Association, more than 17.6 million people worldwide die from cardiovascular diseases each year, and this number is projected to rise to over 23.6 million by 2030.

Connor Landgraf, Jason Bellet, and Tyler Crouch founded Eko Health in 2013, aiming to improve the software, artificial intelligence, and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors used in the treatment of heart disease. The company is headquartered in Berkeley, California, USA. Eko collaborates with Northwestern Medicine and Sutter Health to enhance the detection of valvular heart disease and provide telemedicine services to patients in remote areas.

Eko CEO Connor Landgraf stated, “Given the vast number of people affected by heart disease, advancements in cardiac screening and monitoring are urgently needed. As a driving force behind the progress of modern medicine, artificial intelligence can help clinicians make more accurate predictions and diagnoses, thereby providing patients with the best possible care. We will leverage this funding to advance further research and continue developing data-driven technologies to assist physicians in identifying and monitoring cardiac patients who might otherwise be overlooked.”

Landgraf stated, “Eko’s suite of AI algorithms can detect issues such as atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, and low ejection fraction based on heart sound and electrocardiogram (ECG) data; however, these algorithms have not yet received FDA clearance. The predictive results are transmitted to mobile and web platforms, enabling healthcare providers to manage patients undergoing remote treatment on this platform.”

ARTIS Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that supports entrepreneurs through disruptive technological innovation. The company’s portfolio includes YouTube, Silver Spring Networks, and Aruba Networks.

DigiTx Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm primarily investing in the digital health sector.

NTT Venture Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA. NTTVC focuses on investing in startups. The company’s founder, Vab Goel, is an entrepreneur and investor. Prior to establishing NTTVC, he served as a partner at Norwest Venture Partners for 19 years.

3M Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of 3M, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. The firm focuses on investing in companies in the healthcare, life sciences technology, and digitalization sectors.

XTX Ventures is the venture capital arm of electronic market maker XTX Markets. XTX Markets is a foreign exchange trading and market-making firm. The company was co-founded by Alexander Gerko and Zar Amrolia on January 30, 2015. It is a subsidiary of GSA Capital.

(Compiled by: Tian Shuhang)