The intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare has witnessed yet another groundbreaking development as Copenhagen-based startup Corti secures a remarkable $60 million in Series B funding, as announced in an interview with TechCrunch. Leading this investment round are a couple of tech heavyweights, Prosus Ventures and Atomico, along with continued support from previous backers Eurazeo, EIFO, and Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker. Although the exact valuation remains undisclosed, Corti’s exponential growth in customer engagement and usage speaks volumes about its profound impact on the healthcare landscape.

Two years ago, in 2021, Corti raised a substantial $27 million in Series A funding, assisting in approximately 15 million consultations annually. Fast forward to today, and Corti proudly claims to support an astonishing 100 million patients each year, with its AI assistant being utilized a staggering 150,000 times daily. This translates to nearly 55 consultations every year, spanning across Europe and the United States. The company asserts that its tools can enhance healthcare workers’ accuracy in outcome predictions by up to 40% and expedite their administrative tasks by a remarkable 90%.

Corti’s meteoric rise in popularity, particularly in the post-pandemic era, has seen its services adopted by emergency services in major cities like Seattle, Boston, and Sweden, in addition to numerous hospitals and medical facilities worldwide.

Corti’s offerings are aptly described as an “AI co-pilot” for healthcare, encompassing various crucial aspects of clinical practice. These include triaging during patient interactions, comprehensive documentation, analysis to aid decision-making, provision of “second opinions,” and real-time and post-meeting note generation to identify areas for improvement and clinician training.

The breadth of Corti’s capabilities underscores the heavy workload that medical professionals face daily, making it a welcome addition to the field. Moreover, Corti is not alone in this endeavor, as several companies are pursuing similar models, each taking its unique approach.

For instance, Paris-based startup Nabla, led by AI entrepreneur and researcher Alex LeBrun, launched its own AI “copilot” earlier this year. However, Nabla’s approach involves building its tools on top of existing prominent AI models, including GPT-3 from OpenAI, with in-house medical experts contributing to its development. In contrast, Corti has developed its proprietary models and components without directly hiring medical experts, ensuring the system’s impartiality and reducing the risk of bias.

Lars Maaløe, Corti’s CTO and co-founder, emphasized the importance of this approach, stating in an interview with TechCrunch reporter Ingrid Lunden, “The most responsible way is not to have a physician on your payroll because that could create bias in the system.” Instead, Corti engaged numerous researchers to test and improve its AI, a strategy that has contributed significantly to enhancing the platform’s responsiveness and functionality.

Corti’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Launched in 2018, well before AI’s widespread acceptance, the company faced initial resistance due to concerns about job displacement and the accuracy of its AI co-pilot’s recommendations. However, the landscape has evolved, with AI becoming an integral part of healthcare discussions.

“We want to make the AI term boring,” Maaløe remarked, reflecting a major shift in perception from skepticism to acceptance of AI’s amazing potential in global healthcare.

Nevertheless, not everyone shares this positive outlook. Some in the medical community remain skeptical, warning of AI’s potential pitfalls, including over-reliance on potentially inaccurate data and misleading analysis.

Sandeep Bakshi, Head of European Investments at Prosus Ventures, expressed confidence in Corti’s transformative capabilities, noting that the healthcare industry’s administrative burdens globally contribute to practitioner burnout. He stated, “Corti and its product suite provide system-wide efficiency improvements and enhancement of care provider abilities.”

Laura Connell, Partner at Atomico, emphasized Corti’s role in augmenting overburdened physicians and healthcare providers with the use of AI, paving the way for more personalized, preventative, and proactive medicine for all.

As Corti continues to redefine the patient and healthcare experiences, it stands at the forefront of a revolution that is reshaping the healthcare landscape, one new patient consultation at a time.