Northwell Health-backed JV invests $100M in AI companies tackling health inequities
Summary
"It is a bold collaboration to drive AI-backed companies that save lives and resolve long-standing health inequitiesand realize results that deliver something greater in healthcare," Manning said.Ascertain brings $100 million in seed-stage funding and permanent long-term growth capital to systematically launch healthcare AI companies at scale, with a focus on improving quality and access to care and closing health equity gaps.Northwell Health is New York states largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 830 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. "To date, with a few rare exceptions, the vast majority of AI in healthcare has either failed or succeeded for some not but not all," Bill Schoenfeld, Aegis Ventures chairman, said during the event. "When combined, the resources of Northwell Health and Aegis Ventures are unique and extraordinarily powerful and together with the launch of Ascertain we can create AI in healthcare that not only generates substantial improvement in care at a reduced cost, but is also equitable for all. Ascertains data science team has been working hand-in-hand with Northwells maternal and fetal medicine team to examine tens of thousands of cases of preeclampsia, a hypertensive pregnancy complication that disproportionately affects Black mothers in the U.S.Preeclampsia, a potentially fatal pregnancy condition characterized by high blood pressure, is 60% more common in Black women than in white women, research shows.Using cutting-edge data science techniques, the Ascertain team aims to deliver an AI solution that helps clinicians predict the risk of developing preeclampsia, enabling them to intervene earlier than previously possible.Existing approaches to the detection of preeclampsia often occur too late in pregnancy, once the condition has begun to manifest. "The goal here is to leave a legacy of accomplishment and create new businesses and programs that will take us into the future and improve lives, especially for those people who dont have the access they deserve," Dowling said.