GYANT, maker of an artificial intelligence-based virtual-healthcare assistant, has hauled in a $13.6 million Series A financing round. Wing Venture Capital headlined the raise, which also included support from Intermountain Ventures, Grazia Equity, Alpana Ventures, Techstars Ventures and Plug and Play Ventures.

WHAT IT DOES

A veteran of the Cedars-Sinai Tech Stars accelerator, GYANT's care-navigation business looks to serve as the "digital front door" for healthcare-provider organizations. The AI tool engages patients via chat to uncover their needs and direct them toward the services or tools they may need. GYANT's product can be added to websites, patient apps, or patient portals, and integrates with the organization's EHR systems.

The startup appears to have gotten a leg up over the past year or so. GYANT said in its funding announcement that it's grown from three customers in July 2019 to 24 a year later, and saw wide deployment of an automated COVID-19 screener it developed in March.

WHAT IT'S FOR

GYANT said that the new funds will help further its tech platform and support greater interoperability for its customers.

“The need for digital access and care navigation has never been greater, especially with healthcare inequities and disparities in the spotlight today," Stefan Behrens, CEO and cofounder, said in a statement. "This is the time for GYANT to continue growing and realize our vision of personalized patient experiences with digital navigation to the right, best possible care.”

MARKET SNAPSHOT

GYANT isn't alone in deploying triage chatbots to overwhelmed healthcare providers. Ada Health, Buoy Health, Bright.md, Babylon Health and others have been racking up funds over the past few years and signing a growing number of deployment deals, ranging from care coordination to automated delivery of care reminders. And as COVID-19 cases mount in the U.S., these technologies are increasingly being relied upon to ensure patients receive appropriate guidance.

ON THE RECORD

“Intermountain Healthcare partnered with GYANT for screening and care navigation in the height of COVID-19 – and the results speak for themselves,” Dr. Mike Phillips, managing director and partner of Intermountain Ventures, said in a statement. “Using GYANT led to a 30% decrease in call center volume, alleviating hospital capacity constraints and improving patient engagement. Our first-hand experience with GYANT and the value its market leading care navigation solution delivers drove our decision to invest.”