Renalytix AI Secures $29 Million Series A Funding to Advance AI-Powered Clinical Diagnostics for Kidney Disease

Recently, VCBeat learned from foreign media reports that Renalytix AI, a New York-based startup, has completed its Series A financing round, raising $29 million. The investors in this round have not yet been fully disclosed.

Renalytix AI is a clinical diagnostics manufacturer that utilizes an artificial intelligence platform to diagnose kidney diseases. The company’s solutions are designed to significantly improve kidney disease risk assessment, clinical care, patient stratification in drug clinical trials, and drug target discovery. Its technology platform aggregates information from diverse patient data sources—including systems containing extensive electronic health records, predictive blood biomarkers, and other genomic data—for analysis via high-performance machine learning. The company intends to build a deep, unique kidney disease-specific database for various AI applications to enhance its predictive capabilities and clinical utility.

Image from the official website of RenalytixAI

In May 2018, the company established a foundational partnership with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System. Starting in 2019, the company will proceed with product development and commercialization. As part of this collaboration, Mount Sinai Hospital became a shareholder in the company and made an equity investment during its financing round.

“RenalytixAI can now integrate clinical and financial resources to drive the development of advanced diagnostics, combating the high costs and inefficient management associated with kidney disease,” said James McCullough, CEO of RenalytixAI, the exclusive licensee and development partner of Mount Sinai. “We are deeply grateful to our investors and healthcare partners.”

The company stated that the new funding would be used to help develop two products specifically designed for the early detection of kidney disease and the accurate management of kidney transplant rejection. Its first diagnostic test, called KidneyIntelX, was scheduled for launch in 2019. However, it still requires regulatory review by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).

The National Institutes of Health reports that more than 660,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure, with 193,000 patients having undergone kidney transplantation. “Kidney disease represents a major challenge for healthcare systems worldwide,” said Dr. Barbara Murphy, Director of Clinical Integration and Population Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a member of RenalytixAI’s Scientific Advisory Board, in a statement. “We are addressing this critical need by developing two products that will identify patients at risk of developing the disease as well as those on dialysis, and will stratify the risks faced by kidney transplant recipients.”

Erik Lium, Executive Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), stated, “Kidney disease represents a growing global healthcare crisis, and early detection and intervention can alter the course of this disease. We are pleased to collaborate with RenalytixAI, an emerging industry leader in healthcare artificial intelligence, on research into the prevention and diagnosis of kidney disease.”

MSIP is responsible for driving the practical application and commercialization of inventions and discoveries at Mount Sinai, as well as fostering research collaborations with industry and business sectors. Their goal is to translate these discoveries and inventions into healthcare products and services that benefit patients and society. To bring Mount Sinai’s inventions and discoveries to fruition, the Mount Sinai Innovation Partners oversees all commercialization activities. These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing, and licensing new technologies; establishing research projects; building partnerships with commercial and non-profit entities; managing material transfer agreements and confidentiality agreements; guiding innovators through the commercialization process; and actively cultivating an entrepreneurial ecosystem within the Mount Sinai Health System community.