HealthTech startup Babylon has raised $60m in funding, adding to the $25m the firm raised in 2016.
A statement from the London-based company said it plans to use the funds to “build the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) platform in healthcare”.
Among those participating in the round were NNS holdings, Vostok New Ventures and Kinnevik.
Babylon enables users to have consultations with a GP, specialist or therapist via phone or video call. Patients can then choose the pharmacy to which they want their prescriptions sent or can opt to have their medicines delivered to their door.
The app also has a free-to-use AI-powered triage tool, which is a kind of messenger bot that asks questions about the user’s health issue and then uses the answers to advise what action the patient should take next, for example seek medical attention, go to a pharmacy or deal with it at home.
The firm is set to release an app update this year, which will offer diagnosis by AI, helping clinicians accurately identify the disease and the most appropriate treatment.
Dr Ali Parsa, founder and CEO of Babylon, said: “Babylon scientists predict that we will shortly be able to diagnose and foresee personal health issues better than doctors, but this is about machines and medics co-operating not competing.”
Commenting on the investment, he added: “This significant international investment is a great vote of confidence in Britain’s continued ability to be a global leader in developing innovative technological solutions to worldwide problems.”
We interviewed Parsa for issue 13 of Tech City News Magazine, read the interview here to find out more about the CEO and his company.
To check out the latest UK tech investments, visit the Tech City News Investment Tracker.