Health care AI developer Suki announces $70M toward new and expanded programs

© Suriyo - stock.adobe.com

A company creating artificial intelligence (AI) programs for health care announced additional funding for its work, along with new users.

Suki secured $70 million to develop health system and electronic health record (EHR) partnerships. The company announced its mission “is to make healthcare technology invisible and assistive with an AI platform that powers the industry.”

Total funding has reached $165 million to add to its leadership team as the company develop Suki Assistant, an AI program that streamlines administrative tasks for clinicians, and Suki Platform, a suit of developer tools for partners to build AI technology into their own systems.

“We are in a new phase of growth,” Suki founder and CEO Punit Soni said in a news release. “The health care industry is clamoring for AI and we are proud to offer a suite of full-featured solutions that seamlessly interoperate with existing tools.”

Tested in medical practices

In December 2021, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) declared health care was at an inflection point due to rampant burnout among clinicians, caused in part by documentation and administrative burdens. AAFP’s Innovation Laboratory studied how voice-activated AI could reduce the computerized version of mounds of paperwork.

At the time, family doctors said the technology was a “breakthrough.” Test participants reported a calculated time saving of 3.3 hours a week per clinician, with improved satisfaction with their workloads and practice.

AAFP cited the study in its 2023 “Guide to Relieving Administrative Burden: Essential Innovations for Documentation Burden.” The voice-enabled AI assistants, the health care versions of programs such as Siri, Alexa, or Hey Google, “allow physicians to document without directly interacting with the EHR.”

New partners

This fall, Suki announced partnerships with Epic, Oracle Cerner, Meditech and Athena, along with MedStar Health, which Soni called “one of the most important collaborators in Suki’s history.” MedStar health is a $7.7 billion health system with more than 300 care locations.

“MedStar Health was fundamental in helping us build essential capabilities including our bidirectional and seemingly ‘invisible’ EHR integration, which is why we have the highest clinician adoption rates in the industry,” Soni said. “Together, we have demonstrated how a technology company and health system can meaningfully innovate together and advance physician well-being and patient care.”

MedStar Health uses Oracle Cerner for its EHR, and the Suki Assistant will be used across specialties including primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology and urgent care. The goal is help clinicians save time on clinical documentation so they can redirect time to other elements of patient care, according to the company.

“As MedStar Health explores and deploys artificial intelligence capabilities that can revolutionize healthcare delivery, Suki has served as a critical partner in our ongoing journey for more than four years,” Jeff Collins, vice president of the MedStar Institute for Innovation Business Innovation Lab, said in the news release.

“Together we have delivered new value to our system through successful pilot exploration, workflow optimization, and continued co-development,” Collins said. “Importantly, we have also supported a wide range of providers who report that using Suki vastly improves how they interact with the EHR and elevates their documentation efficiency, improves the patient experience, and bolsters professional satisfaction.”

Suki’s announcement said Hedosophia led the capital effort, with investment by Venrock and participation by existing investors March Capital, Flare Capital, Beyer Capital and inHealthVentures.