What: Sonio has created an artificial intelligence platform that aims to improve pregnancy care by giving greater insight to doctors. The underlying technology was originally developed through 5 years of research and clinical trials at Ecole Polytechnique, the Prairie Institute, and Necker Hospital in Paris. The idea is to supplement classic ultrasounds with AI that can identify and match relevant medical knowledge, imaging, genetic information, and environmental data to build a richer set of information that helps physicians optimize prenatal screenings. Founded in 2020, Sonio's solution is now being used by 150 doctors across Europe.
Why: According to Sonio, 50% of birth defects are not detected prior to birth. By providing greater insight into the health of the fetus, the company hopes to help parents and medical providers make better decisions about treatment.
Who: Co-founders are a mix of data scientists and pre-natal care specialists: Cecile Brosset, Remi Besson, Yves Ville, Dr. Emmanuel Spaggiari, Julien Stirnemann, Stéphanie Allassonniere, Erwan Le Pennec.
Seed Round: €5 million
Investors: Elaia, OneRagTime, Bpifrance, and Business Angels Yann Fleureau (Cardiologs), John Gridley (BioSignal), Alain Decombe, Dominique Gaillard, and Pauline Duval.
What's next: The company will use the money to add embedded
image recognition into its platform, expand its sales effort in Europe, and lay the groundwork for FDA approval so it can enter the U.S. market. Sonio is hiring.
