HEALTH TECH, STARTUP

Ubie, Japanese HealthTech Startup, raises $19M in Series C extension to fuel its US expansion

You were sick but you didn’t exactly know what it was. It was in the middle of the night and you couldn’t reach your doctor. What about if you could check your symptoms and find possible causes for free in just three minutes? That’s exactly what this health tech startup has done.

Ubie, a Tokyo-based startup providing an AI-powered symptom checker app and hospital SaaS products, has closed a $19 million extension to its previous Series C round. Investors in the latest funding include Sogo Medical, AAIC Investment, Japan Impact Investment, Rakuten Capital, Shoko Chukin Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, and Mizuho Bank. The extension round consists of 90% equity and 10% debt financing, according to the co-founder and CEO of Ubie Kota Kubo. The startup founded by doctors has raised a total of $76 million since its inception in 2017.

With an easy 3-minute questionnaire, the app will generate a free report on possible causes. “Based on data extracted from about 50,000 medical research papers [created by more than 50 physicians], AI Monshin [automatically] selects and asks around 20 questions from 3,500 types of question data,” Kubo said.

Ubie’s Co-founder and MD Yoshinori Abe added: “Not only in Japan, but also in other countries, the current healthcare system is suffering from various losses due to the fragmentation of information held by patients, medical institutions, and pharmaceutical companies. This fundraising aims to accelerate collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and create an unprecedented consumer-centered medical experience utilizing Ubie’s data platform. Ubie already has business with more than 20 major pharmaceutical companies in Japan and other countries, and this brings Ubie closer to realizing its mission ‘To develop a healthcare guide for everyone,’ both in Japan and the U.S.”

To constantly improve its AI-powered symptom checker, the Ubie team has collaborated with experienced doctors and medical institutions around the world to help people find the right medical care. Ubie currently provides its services in Japan, the United States, and other countries around the world.