London-based startup Feebris, which is part of this year’s first Google for Startups Residency cohort, has raised £1.1 million in seed funding including a grant from Innovate UK and investment from 24 Haymarket.

Feebris, which has been supported by the HS. health tech accelerator and the Social Tech Trust charity, was founded in 2017 by Elina Naydenova and Adam Bacon.

WHAT THEY DO

The British startup is focused on using artificial intelligence to identify physiological markers that put a patient at-risk of deteriorating. 

“So, we’re developing an AI engine that pairs with off-the-shelf sensors, things like digital stethoscopes, pulse oximeters, and use our proprietary algorithms to identify different markers of disease and then link them to detection of a complication or a specific condition,” Naydenova explained at a recent event organised by Giant Health in London at the beginning of May.

WHY IT MATTERS

“I was working at the World Health Organisation when I became obsessed with childhood pneumonia, which happens to be the number one killer of children under five,” Naydenova said on a panel titled Diversity in the Data Set.

“It kills nearly one million children every year, which I found absurd at the time, I still find absurd today. Following this kind of experience and searching for appropriate solutions, I did a PhD in Oxford in machine learning for healthcare and then set up Feebris, which is a company, AI company developing really new tools to identify health challenges, particularly in children and the elderly."

In 2018, the cofounder was awarded $100,000 (£80,000) by the Children’s Prize Foundation to scale Feebris’ work in India, which looks at the development and deployment of a health programme in Mumbai aiming to help 10,000 children.

“That’s a programme we’ve worked really hard on,” Naydenova added at the Giant Health event.

In a statement on the new funding, she said: “This investment will support Feebris’ AI-enabled platform to continue bridging the gap between the community and providers across a range of respiratory conditions including pneumonia, COPD and asthma.”

ON THE RECORD

Feebris was unveiled to be one of the startups taking part in the first 2019 Residency cohort of Google for Startups earlier this year. The initiative is led by Marta Krupinska, previously cofounder of fintech company Azimo and now head of Google for Startups UK. Kuprinska said Feebris was “an excellent example of a values-led company that uses technology to solve important social problems”.

Ed Evans, chief executive of the Social Tech Trust, added: “We’re thrilled to see Feebris secure seed stage investment to support their growth. Feebris share our vision for transforming the healthcare system and we see huge potential in their innovative approach. Driven by passionate founders, I’m confident that Feebris will go on to create incredible social impact.”