Tokyo telemedicine spinout Miup has been backed by Beyond Next Ventures in its bid to build an AI-powered healthcare ecosystem in Bangladesh.
Miup, a Japan-based telemedicine technology spinout from University of Tokyo, has received approximately ¥100m ($890,000) in funding from venture capital firm Beyond Next Ventures.
Founded in 2015, Miup is developing telemedicine products that apply artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies to medical data in order to provide personalised healthcare services in Bangladesh such as screening and remote consultations.
The spinout will use the capital to expand its operations and data management capabilities in Bangladesh as it looks to build an AI-based healthcare ecosystem in the country, according to TechCrunch. Miup is currently piloting its technology in rural healthcare settings.
Miup was co-founded by chief executive Mari Sakihi, whose research focused on developing countries, and Kotobuki Hasegawa, an assistant professor at University of Tokyo Medical Research Institute. The spinout does not appear to have previously disclosed funding.
Sakuhi said: “We established our own inspection laboratory and prepared a structure, and a request came from another medical institution to create a laboratory [for them].
“This is also important from the viewpoint of firmly accumulating actual data. If the procedures of the examination centre is sloppy, we cannot gather useful data. [By expanding labs ourselves] we can create an environment for AI to learn essential data “
