A year and a half after emerging from stealth mode, AI-enable workflow management tool Robin Healthcare announced a $11.5 million Series A funding round, bringing the company’s total funding pot to $15 million. The latest round was led by Northwest Venture Partners.
The company also revealed that former cofounder and CTO of Siri Tom Gruber will be joining the company as a formal advisor.
WHAT IT DOES
The company bills itself as a service that will help doctors and clinicians “cut down on the paperwork.” The device, which looks similar to an Amazon Alexa or Google Home voice assistant, will sit in a doctor’s office and draft notes from clinicians' spoken conversations. The voice-enabled AI device is designed to help doctors and clinicians write clinical notes.
After an appointment a doctor can review the notes and make changes accordingly. Instead of being just a transcript, the technology was designed to pull out the clinically relevant information and structure it in the right places, Emilio Galan, cofounder and president, told MobiHealthNews in an interview last year.
When the company came out of stealth mode at that time, it already had $3.5 million under its belt in seed funding from investors including IA Ventures, Social Leverage and Meridian Street. The company had said that money would be going towards product development and natural language processing development.
WHAT IT’S FOR
The Berkley, California-based startup said it will put the new money towards developing its product and building relationships with more provider organizations. As part of the funding news the company announced a slew of new partnerships with new provider organizations including Duke University Medical Center’s Private Diagnostic Clinic and University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
“This new infusion of capital will help us forge a path toward eliminating administrative overhead for doctors and improving patient care,” Noah Auerhahn, cofounder and CEO of Robin, said in a statement. “Furthermore, Robin's ongoing relationships with premier institutions accelerates product development cycles, allowing us to deliver more value to clinicians and health systems.”
THE LARGER TREND
Physician burden is a burning issue in the medical community. Many are now looking to digital as a way to solve the paperwork problem. One of the most similar companies is Suki, a startup that makes an AI-powered and voice-enabled digital assistant for doctors. It landed $20 million in funding last May.
Also worth mentioning is a startup called Notable, which also uses voice technology to help providers manage workload. Last year it launched an AI powered smartwatch for doctors that will automatically link to the EHR.
ON THE RECORD
“Robin has the clinical, technical industry, and technical heft needed to streamline physician documentation and alleviate burnout,” Casper de Clercq, a partner at Norwest Venture Partner, said in a statement. “We see a growth opportunity and are delighted to invest in Robin.”
