Biotech & Health

Apple says AirPods Pro 2 can be used as ‘clinical-grade’ hearing aids

Biotech & Health /

Apple says that the AirPods Pro 2, its latest flagship wireless earbuds, can be used as “clinical-grade” hearing aids. The feature hasn’t been FDA-cleared, however, although the company says that it expects approval “soon.” The new AirPods were announced at the Apple “It’s Glowtime” event. The hearing aid feature, when enabled, boosts specific sounds in […]

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Neko Health, the body-scanning AI health startup from Spotify’s Daniel Ek, opens in London

Biotech & Health /

Prevention is better than cure, as the saying goes. Today, a splashy startup that has taken that concept to heart — literally and figuratively — is expanding. Neko Health was co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne with a mission to improve preventative healthcare with annual full body scans and AI-powered insights that can

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Google is working on AI that can hear signs of sickness

Biotech & Health /

Given everything you’ve already heard about AI, you may not be surprised to learn that Google is among other outfits beginning to use sound signals to predict early signs of disease.  How? According to Bloomberg, Google has trained its foundation AI model with 300 million pieces of audio that included coughs, sniffles, and labored breathing,

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PayZen secures $23M Series B, $200M debt facility to grow its “care now, pay later” product

Biotech & Health /

The cost of healthcare in the U.S. has been rising rapidly, but the portion of those costs footed by patients has increased even faster. Just two decades ago, fees paid by patients accounted for only 5% of hospitals’ and doctors’ revenue, but by 2017, those fees made up 35% of revenue. This trend inevitably led millions

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Sequoia-backed Knowde raises Series C at a valuation cut

Biotech & Health /

Knowde, an online marketplace for chemicals and polymers, just closed on a Series C round, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The San Jose-based startup raised $60 million in a round that values it lower than the $500 million valuation it garnered in its most recent round, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. This round

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Healx, an AI-enabled drug discovery platform for rare diseases, raises $47M

Biotech & Health /

Healx, a U.K. startup using AI to discover new drugs for rare diseases, has raised $47 million in a Series C round of funding co-led by Europe’s Atomico and Silicon Valley-based R42. The company also said that it has received regulatory clearance to start Phase 2 clinical trials for a new drug in the U.S.

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AI-powered Regard nabs $61M to find missed illness, boost hospital revenue

Biotech & Health /

People in tech often say that data is the new oil. That phrase, coined by British mathematician Clive Humby, of course implies that data is valuable. Data about a person’s health can also provide meaningful insights and improve outcomes, but only 3% of patient data is currently used by physicians, according to the World Economic

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Seae Ventures acquires Unseen Capital after founder death

Biotech & Health /

Seae Ventures is acquiring Unseen Capital after the death of founder Kayode Owens in 2021. The combined firm will continue to invest in healthcare for minorities and underserved populations. Owens, an investor and entrepreneur, launched Unseen Capital to focus early-stage healthcare companies started by underrepresented founders, in 2020. He raised $30 million but unfortunately died

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J2 Ventures, focused on military healthcare, grabs $150M for its second fund

Biotech & Health /

J2 Ventures, a firm led mostly by the U.S. military veterans, announced on Thursday that it has raised a $150 million second fund. The Boston-based firm invests in startups whose products are purchased by civilians and the U.S. Department of Defense.   While many emerging VCs are struggling to raise second funds, J2’s latest vehicle is

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Robot cats, dogs and birds are being deployed amid an ‘epidemic of loneliness’

Biotech & Health /

In the early 1990s, a researcher at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology began work on what would become Paro. More than 30 years after its development, the doe-eyed seal pup remains the best-known example of a therapeutic robot for older adults. In 2011, the robot reached the zenith of pop cultural

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