SWORD Health Secures $8M Series A Funding to Advance AI-Powered Digital Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Disorders

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that on April 16, medical technology company SWORD Health announced the completion of an $8 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and several unnamed angel investors. The proceeds will be used to conduct clinical trials for products treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and to expand its presence in the U.S. market.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common central nervous system demyelinating disease. In the United States, more than 50% of people suffer from MS. The annual cost of treating MS in the U.S. reaches as high as $190 billion, making it the second most costly condition in the American healthcare sector. Opioid therapy and surgery are the primary treatments for MS. Currently, physical therapy has been recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the optimal treatment approach for MS.

SWORD Health, a startup providing digital remote physical therapy services, was founded in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2014. The company maintains offices in New York and Porto. Sword Health has developed a digital physical therapy approach that enables patients to receive treatment remotely at home. By combining “high-precision motion tracking sensors” with AI, this therapy aims to enhance the scalability of physical therapy delivery. Sword Health’s flagship product, “Sword Phoenix,” facilitates interactive physical rehabilitation exercises for patients at home under the supervision of remote physical therapists.

SWORD Health attaches high-precision motion tracking sensors to corresponding locations on patients’ bodies, leveraging AI-driven technology to capture and digitize movement data in real time. A clinical team comprising physicians and physical therapists then conducts remote assessment, verification, and supervision, adjusting rehabilitation protocols remotely based on objective data to maximize therapeutic outcomes.

Virgilio Bento, CEO of SWORD Health, stated, “Musculoskeletal (MS) conditions are fueling opioid misuse and wasting surgical resources that could have been avoided. We are expanding the reach of physical therapy to redefine musculoskeletal care.”

Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, stated, “Over the past 50 years, there has been little innovation in musculoskeletal care. Sword Health’s end-to-end technological approach has disrupted existing MSK therapies, multiplying healthcare efficiency for both patients and payers.”

In April 2018, SWORD Health completed a $4.6 million seed funding round. Currently, SWORD Health has entered into collaborative agreements with several major insurance companies and healthcare institutions in the United States to jointly prevent and treat MS.

Khosla Ventures was founded in 2004 in Menlo Park, California, with a commitment to investing in companies that possess breakthrough technologies. Prior to establishing Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla was a co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Khosla Ventures focuses on transformative technologies in fields such as financial services, semiconductors, healthcare, big data, sustainable energy, and robotics.

(Compiled by: Li Chengping)