Nigerian startup Intron Health, which provides clinical speech recognition for over 200 accents spoken in developing countries, starting in Africa, has raised US$1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round to deepen its research and expand distribution.
Launched in 2020 by Tobi Olatunji and Olakunle Asekun, Intron Health developed Africa’s first clinical speech recognition platform, which boasts up to 92 per cent accuracy rate on medical terminology with heavy accents.
The platform helps doctors across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and most recently Uganda complete documentation seven times faster, significantly accelerating the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and reducing the administrative burden.
Intron’s US$1.6 million pre-seed round was led by Microtraction, with participation from Plug and Play Ventures, Jaza Rift Ventures, Octopus Ventures, Africa Health Ventures, OpenseedVC, Pi Campus, Alumni Angel, and Baker Bridge Capital. The investment also saw contributions from angel investors from global companies, including Google, CLEAR Global, NYU, and Optum.
With this funding, Intron Health will deepen its research efforts, strengthen cloud-native and on-prem capabilities, and expand distribution. The company will also bolster its team by recruiting tech talent to support product development and market expansion, driving continued progress and breaking further technological barriers.
“Having worked as a doctor in Nigeria, I have experienced first-hand the pain points with trying to deliver quality healthcare amidst increasing patient numbers. We are excited about the adoption and growth we’ve seen over the past year, which shows we are addressing a significant need and providing a well overdue solution to a critical problem in the global south,” said Olatunji.
“We are not only improving efficiency but also enhancing health outcomes and positively impacting hospital finances. With the backing of prominent global investors who bring deep knowledge and expertise, we are looking forward to our next phase of growth.”
Intron Health currently serves over 30 public and private hospitals including Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Hospital (ABATH) Lagos, Babcock Teaching Hospital Ogun, and Meridian Health Group Nairobi, providing care to more than 56,000 patients.
“We value companies and entrepreneurs who push boundaries with innovative solutions. Intron Health exemplifies this spirit. Tobi and Olakunle have effectively combined their domain expertise, unique insights, and proven execution skills to achieve impressive traction. We are excited to support Intron Health further and confident in their ability to deliver significant value to the healthcare sector and its stakeholders,” said Dayo Koleowo, partner at Microtraction.
