All Access

Health Tech Deals

Health Tech Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Health Tech Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Health Tech Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Ferrum Health, which offers software to deploy AI solutions into health systems, raised a $16 million Series A, CEO Pelu Tran tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Point solution fatigue and integration challenges are major barriers to adoption of new AI in hospitals.

How it works: "Think of us like the iPhone and the App Store," Tran says.

Ferrum's platform acts as a bridge between existing hospital infrastructure and cloud-based, FDA-approved AI software solutions. 

Primarily focused on deploying AI tools for imaging and radiology, Ferrum's technology helps integrate new point solutions within a hospital's existing firewall and data center.  

"Most of our customers are large American health systems that are seeking to try to improve the care of their lung cancer, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease patients," Tran says. 

Zoom in: Foundry led the raise, with participation from Catalyst by Wellstar, Headwaters Ventures and UnitedHealthcare Accelerator.

Prior investors including Blumberg Capital, Cercano, GSR, Urban Innovation Fund and Singtel Innov8.

By the numbers: Ferrum is generating "a few million (dollars) in revenue," Tran says. 

The company is running 2.5 million patient records annually through its platform, says Foundry partner Jaclyn Freeman Hester.

"Our goal is to bring that ten-fold higher in the coming years," she says.

Meanwhile, there are more than 700 FDA-approved health algorithms currently on the market, with more than 76% in radiology. 

What they're saying: "The average hospital doesn't have a hope at actually staying abreast of and deploying those solutions," says Tran.

"Our overarching milestone is, how many patient lives can we we impact? How many kind of AI tools can we actually get deployed into the hands of doctors and patients that need them?" Freeman Hester says.

What's next: Ferrum isn't likely to raise another round before 2026, the proceeds of which would be used to expand across more verticals, Tran says.

Friction point: AI adoption for many use cases is often stifled by a lack of interoperability with existing electronic health record (EHR) vendors.

For Ferrum, the issue is less glaring, given most AI algorithms being used in imaging are being built off health care IT infrastructure separate from Epic's or Cerner's.

"If you do the Venn diagram of where is AI being deployed clinically, and the data that EHRs have control over, there's actually only a 20% overlap," Tran says.

Yes, but: "As we start to build our capabilities we are starting to integrate more deeply with the EHR," Tran says.

What we're watching: In May, health records giant Epic released its first open-source tool meant to help health systems test and monitor the performance of EHR-integrated AI models. 

"Hopefully, Epic is going to be releasing tooling that makes it easier for hospitals to be able to track the longitudinal performance," Tran says.

Ferrum Health nabs $16M to get FDA-cleared AI into hospitals

Point solution fatigue and difficulty integrating new tech are major barriers to adoption of new AI in hospitals.

Illustration of a thermometer, medical scissors, tweezer and arrow cursor. 

Health tech deals

Ferrum Health, which offers software to deploy AI solutions into health systems, raised a $16 million Series A, CEO Pelu Tran tells Axios exclusively.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Point solution fatigue" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2024/09/16/pe-faces-point-solution-fatigue" data-vars-content-id="16715b41-4776-42b9-8c45-2d3ece1e94aa" data-vars-headline="Ferrum Health nabs $16M to get FDA-cleared AI into hospitals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/health-tech-deals/2024/09/16/pe-faces-point-solution-fatigue" target="_self">Point solution fatigue</a> and integration challenges are major barriers to adoption of new AI in hospitals.

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

boulder

detroit

kansas-city

columbus

austin

dallas

atlanta

washington-dc

nw-arkansas

chicago

indianapolis

nashville

richmond

colorado-springs

houston

san-francisco

seattle

boston

des-moines

salt-lake-city

philadelphia

denver

phoenix

new-orleans

miami

twin-cities

raleigh

san-antonio

portland

san-diego

tampa-bay

cleveland

huntsville

pittsburgh

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Ferrum Health nabs $16M to get FDA-cleared AI into hospitals

What to read next