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Onboard AI, a startup helping health providers vet AI vendors, raised $5 million in SAFE financing, CEO Troy Bannister tells Axios exclusively.

What's next: The company is planning a $15 million to $30 million Series A round next year, Bannister says.

Follow the money: Onboard raised the first half of the round from NextView Ventures and Meridian Capital and the second half from Cedars Sinai, says Bannister.

Onboard expects to hit breakeven by Q3 2026 and is currently generating just under $1 million in annual revenue, he says.

How it works: AI committees at health systems and payors use Onboard AI's software to analyze potential risks of health AI vendors.

For example, Onboard might evaluate how well an AI model detects and manages safety incidents or hallucinations, or how it mitigates alert fatigue and automation bias.

What they're saying: "Every hospital and payor in the country has an AI committee now, and it's anywhere between five and 50 people," Bannister says.

"Their job is to basically diligence every AI vendor that comes through the procurement cycle," he adds.

What's next: Onboard hopes to sign five or six health system clients by the end of the year, Bannister says.

Zoom out: Lacking a robust regulatory framework for AI in health care, groups like Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) have emerged to vet new tools and models.

Yes, but: CHAI — made up of industry giants like Google, OpenAI and Mayo Clinic — has drawn ire from the Trump administration, which sees it as an attempt to squelch the startup ecosystem.

Flashback: Bannister founded Particle Health, which has been embroiled in an antitrust dispute with EHR giant Epic Systems over health data exchange practices.

In September, a judge ruled Epic must face claims that it used monopoly power to harm a rival business.

The bottom line: "What we're betting on as a business is that there will be consensus in standards in health care as it relates to AI risk," Bannister says.

Exclusive: Onboard AI raises $5M SAFE to vet health AI models

The company is planning a $15 million to $30 million Series A round next year, says CEO Troy Bannister.

Illustration of a caduceus with arrow cursors for wings

Onboard AI, a startup helping health providers vet AI vendors, raised $5 million in SAFE financing, CEO Troy Bannister tells Axios exclusively.What&#x27;s next: The company is planning a $15 million to $30 million Series A round next year, Bannister says.

Exclusive: Onboard AI raises $5M SAFE to vet health AI models

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