Harrison.ai has received A$32 million ($20 million) in equity investment from the Australian federal government's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation.

WHAT IT'S FOR

The multi-million dollar investment, which forms part of Harrison.ai's Series C funding round, will help the medical AI company secure a wide base of hospitals and health facilities in Australia while also seeking expansion abroad. Over 1,000 healthcare facilities worldwide are already using its diagnostic support AI, including the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

It will also fund further improvements in its suite of diagnostic solutions. Its proprietary AI can detect up to 124 findings on chest X-rays and up to 130 findings on non-contract head CTs. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The funding represents the NRFC's first investment in the medical science sector, one of its priority areas.

"There is currently a severe global shortage of radiologists and pathologists, resulting in significant diagnostic delays that can have life-threatening consequences for patients," NRFC Chair Martijn Wilder said, explaining their investing rationale.

THE LARGER TREND

Harrison.ai last raised A$129 million ($97 million) in a Series B funding round in 2021. 

Amid the generative AI boom in healthcare last year, the company launched its own large language model for radiology. Harrison.rad.1 performs open-ended chat related to X-ray images. It reportedly outperformed popular LLMs such as OpenAI's GPT-4o and Microsoft's LLaVA-Med. 

As part of its global expansion, Harrison.ai merged last year with Annalise.ai, its radiology venture with private diagnostic network I-MED Radiology.