Beta Bionics Secures $63M as AI-Driven “Pancreas” Heads to Key Tests
Summary
Beta Bionics, a startup developing a medical device that monitors and manages blood sugar levels in diabetes patients, has closed $63 million to back late-stage clinical tests of its AI-powered technology. Beta Bionics’s device is designed to mimic the role of the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin and glucagon, two hormones that work together to maintain proper blood sugar levels. The iLet algorithms were licensed from Boston University, where they were developed in the lab of biomedical engineering professor Edward Damiano, the president and CEO of Beta Bionics. The company says that in earlier home-use studies in adults and children with type 1 diabetes, these algorithms showed that they can help manage patients’ blood sugar levels. Beta Bionics initially announced its Series B round last September, a $50 million financing that was led by Eventide Asset Management.