Korea's SK Telecom has announced an investment of $20 million in Israeli medical imaging company Nanox Imaging Ltd.. This has enabled Nanox to close a $51 million Series B financing round, bringing to $80 million the amount raised by the company from investors including Foxcomm and FujiFilm. SK Telecom had previously invested $5 million in Nanox.
Based in Neve Ilan near Jerusalem, Nanox has developed a system combining digital X-ray device Nanox.ARC and an AI cloud-based software Nanox.CLOUD. The Nanox ARC weighs 70kg (compared to 2000 kg CT scanners) and is produced at a fraction of the cost ($10,000 versus a few millions for a regular CT scanner). Nanox's unique business model allows wide distribution and accessibility, and will charge health providers with a pay-per-scan service model. The company’s goal is to drive early detection preventive healthcare as a new standard of care.
Nanox and and SK Telecom are also announcing today a joint collaboration aimed at increasing accessibility to medical imaging for all socio-economic communities by deploying 2,500 Nanox Systems integrating the Company’s MsaaS (medical screening as a service) model in South Korea and Vietnam. Such deployment, subject to obtaining regulatory clearances, intends to democratize medical imaging and promote preventive healthcare through a significant increase of system availability in these markets.
Nanox also plans setting up a wholly-owned Korean subsidiary that will focus on scaling up production of the Nanox X-ray source semiconductor while leveraging SK’s deep expertise in the area of semiconductors.
SK CEO Jung Ho Park said, "We passionately seek to revolutionize healthcare by leveraging on innovative technologies. We see Nanox as one of the most promising companies to make a real difference for early detection of disease and higher standard of care to the humankind. We feel the Company is making significant progress towards its vision and want to help make it a reality."
Nanox CEO Ran Poliakine said, "Nanox’s vision is nothing short of helping eradicate cancer and other conditions that plague us by increasing early detection of medical conditions that are discoverable by X-ray. We have been working for over eight years to bring a new breed of imaging to the world that can help us achieve this ambitious goal. Big visions require big partnerships to become real. SK is one of our greatest supporters and we go hand in hand for creating a world where no person has to wait weeks and months in line for radiology services and diagnostics."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 4, 2020
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