British Health-Tech Startup Cera Secures $150M To Expand And Hits Unicorn Status - 1

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British Health-Tech Startup Cera Secures $150M To Expand And Hits Unicorn Status

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

The UK-based health technology startup Cera raised $150 million to expand its platform and services in a recent funding round. The company’s value has now surpassed $1 billion, reaching unicorn status.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Cera raised 150 million in a funding round, reaching a valuation above $1 billion and a unicorn status.
  • The company expects to expands its platform, develop new AI technologies and reach more areas such as nursing, mental health and home provision.
  • Dr. Ben Maruthappu, Cera CEO, claims the startup’s service has helped the NHS financially, reducing hospitalization, waiting times, and performing analysis

According to The Times , the new funding consists of equity and debt and was led by BDT & MSD Partners and Schroders Capital.

Cera, founded by Dr. Ben Maruthappu—current CEO and former National Health Service (NHS) doctor— in 2016, will use the new funding to expand and develop new AI technologies for its in-home healthcare services.

Maruthappu explained that they will focus on improving their current platform and technologies services, such as fall detection among the elderly, and developing more services, such as nursing, mental health, home provision, and physiotherapy services.

According to TechCrunch , firms like DigitalHealth, Guinness Ventures, and Earlymarket are among the company’s main investors. Cera has raised more than $407 million, and sources said that the startup’s revenues have been rewarding, reaching an EBITA-positive status in 2023 and generating more cash from its operations in 2024. Public files should confirm this soon.

“We are getting to profitability, plus we have very significant stale how we’re using our technology and AI, and we’ve expanded into more services in the home,” said Maruthappu to Tech Crunch.

Maruthappu claims his company has helped NHS by taking pressure off and also financially, by saving the public institution £1 million a day. According to the data shared, the company’s 10,000 staff handles 2 million appointments in a month and have helped reduce hospitalization by 70% and shortening wait times.

The California-based startup Hippocratic AI also reached unicorn status a few days ago, after raising $141 million in a Series B round.

AI Models Forecast Viral Mutations, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness - 2

AI Models Forecast Viral Mutations, Enhancing Pandemic Preparedness

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

AI is playing a significant role in helping scientists predict how viruses evolve, potentially improving pandemic preparedness and aiding in the development of vaccines and antiviral treatments.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • AI is helping predict viral evolution, improving vaccine and treatment development.
  • RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and influenza constantly mutate, evading immune detection.
  • AI tools forecast short-term mutations, but long-term viral changes remain unpredictable.

While predicting viral evolution is still in its infancy, researchers are using AI to forecast how RNA viruses, like SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, will mutate, as detailed in a new report by Nature .

Currently, AI tools are able to predict which single mutations are likely to be successful and which viral variants might dominate in the short term. However, Nature says that predicting long-term changes or complex combinations of mutations remains a challenge.

AI’s role in this field has been bolstered by advanced protein-structure prediction models like AlphaFold, ESM-2, and ESMFold, which analyze how mutations affect viral proteins. Nature says that these tools are revolutionizing the ability to simulate viral evolution and help scientists understand how viruses like SARS-CoV-2 adapt over time.

The availability of massive amounts of genetic data is crucial for AI models to predict viral evolution. With nearly 17 million sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes, AI models have a wealth of data to train on, allowing researchers to simulate potential future variants, says Nature.

For example, the CoVFit model, developed by Jumpei Ito’s team at the University of Tokyo, has been instrumental in predicting which SARS-CoV-2 variants are likely to spread and dominate in the population, as reported by Nature.

In addition to tracking known viruses, AI is also helping scientists uncover new ones. A study published in October revealed that researchers used AI to identify 70,500 new RNA viruses , many of which thrive in extreme environments such as salt lakes and hydrothermal vents.

This study applies metagenomics, allowing scientists to analyze genetic material from diverse ecosystems without growing individual viruses in the lab.

Despite progress, Nature says that challenges remain when trying to accurately predict sudden viral leaps, such as the emergence of the Omicron variant, which introduced more than 50 mutations in a single leap.

For these AI models to become even more accurate, they need more than five years of data on viral evolution, says Nature. Combining surveillance sequencing with experimental data will improve predictions and help researchers stay ahead of evolving viral threats.