Skin Analytics – the British healthtech company on a mission to build a future where nobody dies of skin cancer – has secured £15 million in Series B funding led by Intrepid Growth Partners.
This investment follows Skin Analytics’ recent EU MDR Class III CE mark approval, making its technology, DERM, the world’s first legally authorised AI medical device to independently make clinical decisions on skin cancer without human review.
Now the firm will use the funding to expand its focus and launch products that cover all dermatology concerns as well as expand internationally to other key markets struggling with dermatologist shortages such as Europe and Australia. It will also accelerate their move into the US market.
The investment comes as healthcare systems worldwide buckle under unprecedented dermatologist shortages with patients waiting months for potentially life-saving skin cancer checks. With an average of only about 30 dermatologists per 1 million population in Europe the scarcity of practitioners is stark particularly when considering that skin-related issues consistently rank among the top 10 reasons for initial doctor visits.
Skin Analytics has already transformed dermatology within the UK. Its AI medical device has been deployed at 26 NHS sites, where it has been used in pathways that have seen more than 150,000 patients and detected over 14,000 cancers.
DERM can autonomously discharge up to 40% of urgent suspected skin cancer referrals, freeing up scarce specialist resources. It delivers unmatched accuracy, ruling out the most high risk skin cancers 99.8% of the time, exceeding the 98.9% accuracy of dermatologists. NHS Trusts across England using DERM have reduced unnecessary face-to-face dermatology appointments by up to 95%, easing pressure on overwhelmed health systems.
Neil Daly, founder and CEO of Skin Analytics, said: “AI allows us to move from a world of specialist scarcity to one where we have the capacity to see everyone who is concerned about their skin. Starting with skin cancer, this funding allows us to work with our partners to build new models of care that everyone can access, whenever they want to. That brings us closer to the world where no one dies from skin cancer.
“We have proven this technology in the UK and are now making it available globally.”
Intrepid Growth Partners, an AI-focused growth investor, led the round. The fund was founded by Mark Machin, former CEO of CPPIB, Mark Shulgan, former Head of Growth Equity at OMERS, and Ajay Agrawal, an expert on the economics of AI at the University of Toronto, a hub for some of the world’s most transformative AI breakthroughs.
Mark Machin, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Intrepid Growth Partners, commented: “At Intrepid Growth Partners, we invest in transformative machine intelligence-driven solutions that address critical challenges, and Skin Analytics exemplifies this vision. Their technology is redefining early skin cancer detection, improving patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. We are excited to support their growth as they scale their impact globally.”
The fight against skin cancer is accelerating, and Skin Analytics is hiring. The company is actively recruiting top-tier AI and healthcare talent, using this funding to attract world-class professionals who want to transform cancer detection forever.
Daly added: “This is just the beginning. AI will allow us to redesign healthcare systems around the world to the benefit of patients. The faster we scale, the more lives we can impact. That mission drives us every day.”