Ubenwa, a MedTech startup building the future of automated sound-based medical diagnostics, has received $2.5 million in funding to help parents and clinicians understand an infant’s cry.
Ubenwa, which is based in Montreal, Canada, was co-founded by its Nigerian Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Charles Onu.
The firm is a pioneering developer of diagnostic software for the rapid detection of medical anomalies in infant cry sounds.
In a statement, Onu said: “Ubenwa is building a diagnostic tool that understands when a baby’s cry is a cry for medical attention.
“Ultimately, our goal is to be a translator for baby cry sounds, providing a non-invasive way to monitor medical conditions everywhere you find a baby: delivery rooms, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, nurseries, and in the home.”
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He explained that the technology is based on a foundation of scientific research developed in close collaboration with Montreal’s AI research institute, Mila, and six hospitals in three countries, including Montreal Children’s Hospital, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, Rivers State Teaching Hospital in Nigeria and Santa Casa de Misericordia in Brazil.
The company is said to have the largest and most diverse clinically annotated database of infant cry sounds, an essential asset for the development of audio-based biomarkers.
Ubenwa said it received the funding through an announcement of pre-seed financing that attracted top AI venture funds and researchers, AI-focused Radical Ventures and AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio.
Radical Ventures led the round, which included participation from returning investor AIX Ventures, a fund co-founded by AI researchers and entrepreneurs Pieter Abbeel and Richard Socher.
Ubenwa is backed by Radical Ventures and AI luminary Yoshua Bengio.
The firm is partnering with leading children’s hospitals to detect medical anomalies in baby cries.
Source: The Nation
