Cambridge-based company Qureight successfully secured $20 million in funding to improve the interpretation of chest scans using artificial intelligence. The firm develops AI imaging tools specifically for clinical trials related to the lungs and heart. The Series B funding round was spearheaded by Molten Ventures, with participation from existing backers such as Hargreave Hale AIM VCT, XTX Ventures, Guinness Ventures, Meltwind, and Ascension.
Dr Muhunthan Thillai, who does not possess an engineering background, co-founded Qureight in 2018 alongside Dr Alessandro Ruggiero. Thillai noted that this initial stage presented one of the most significant early challenges. The concept originated from his personal experience as a chest physician following a situation where he lacked confidence in interpreting a CT scan.
Thillai explained to Tech Funding News that the company began because there was a need to assist pharmaceutical companies in conducting superior clinical trials. Despite the difficulty of balancing founding duties, company growth, and patient care, Thillai continues to see patients part-time in Cambridge.
To address the technical expertise gap, Qureight recruited a CTO who previously served as the global head of platform at Hewlett Packard, a CMO who managed research at CMR Surgical, and a CSO with experience teaching machine learning at Imperial College London.
Qureight provides two distinct products for its pharmaceutical clientele. These tools reduce the time required for imaging decisions from approximately two weeks down to just 48 hours. The AI Lung model is capable of mapping airways and blood vessels, illustrating precisely how a medication influences disease progression.
Both products operate on a general-purpose foundation model focused on the chest. This allows disease-specific models to be developed in one or two months, significantly faster than the previous timeline of one year. The new investment will support the establishment of an in-house AI imaging laboratory.
The scope of Qureight's application extends to conditions including asthma, lung cancer, pulmonary hypertension, bronchiectasis, and drug-induced lung toxicity. Currently, Qureight conducts worldwide trials in collaboration with AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and various biotechnology partners.
The market for lung and heart clinical trials is forecasted to reach $27.5 billion by 2030, exhibiting an annual growth rate of 6.9%. A primary European competitor is Oxford’s Brainomix, which utilizes an FDA-cleared e-Lung platform for pulmonary fibrosis trials. However, the operational overlap between the two entities is limited: Brainomix focuses on selling diagnostic software to hospitals, whereas Qureight concentrates on trial design and imaging contract research. Notably, the Brainomix platform was recently selected by Boehringer Ingelheim for a Phase 3 trial.
Qureight initially approached Molten two years prior but was declined. This time, three lead investors submitted term sheets within a six-week period, and the company had the potential to raise a larger sum. Nevertheless, Qureight opted for Molten due to the established relationship and the desire to anchor the funding round with a London-based fund rather than pursuing competing US offers.
Dr Inga Deakin, the Molten partner joining Qureight’s board, commented that Qureight exemplifies how AI, when supported by real-world data, can expedite discovery processes and revolutionize clinical research. Looking ahead, Qureight intends to double its staff to 100 by December, establish a second office in London next month, and commence trials for asthma, lung cancer, and pulmonary hypertension before the year concludes.
The tech startup Genius AI has raised $44 million in investment to capitalize on the growing demand in the personal interaction-focused service economy. With this Series D funding round, the company's valuation reached $1.15 billion.
Venture firm Lux Capital led the round. Other investors included Bessemer Venture Partners, Imaginary Ventures, L Catterton Growth, 2048 Ventures, and StepStone Private Ventures. These funds will allow Genius AI to shift its focus from beauty booking software to autonomous artificial intelligence tools for a wider range of in-person services.
The company, formerly known as GlossGenius, was founded in 2015 by identical sisters Danielle and Leah Cohen-Shohet. They initially created GlossGenius to help salon owners, aestheticians, and spa operators manage their daily operations. Danielle independently learned programming and wrote the initial code, and over time, the software became a dominant force in the market, helping small businesses process payments, book clients, and promote their services.
The company is now changing its name to Genius AI, signifying a broader mission. As Genius AI, the platform will support all in-person professionals. It is planned for use in medical spas, physical therapy centers, fitness studios, injections, and health clinics.
The physical service economy in the United States includes about eight million businesses generating over $2 trillion in annual consumer spending. Although studies show that business owners spend nearly 36% of their working time on administrative tasks, Genius AI aims to completely eliminate this bureaucratic burden. The platform goes beyond simple assistance tools and transforms into an autonomous AI agent capable of handling complex tasks end-to-end, freeing up business owners to interact with clients.
The company demonstrates impressive growth and operational scale. Currently, the system is used by over 125,000 businesses across half of the US zip codes. Genius AI reports that its platform is approaching $200 million in annual revenue. To date, the company's tools have helped clients save over 112 million hours of administrative work. To deepen penetration into the healthcare sector, the company has added full HIPAA compliance, allowing physical therapists and clinical specialists to securely store sensitive patient data. This gives Genius AI a significant advantage over traditional tools lacking privacy protection. As artificial intelligence automates office work, human care becomes even more valuable, as skilled professionals like masseuses and trainers provide care that computer code cannot replicate. The new funding is planned to be used to expand software development and increase the engineering team.
London-based company Arrakis has announced the raising of approximately $38 million. These funds are intended to expand the company's platform, which helps industrial enterprises integrate artificial intelligence agents into critical workflows.
The funding round includes a Series A round of $30 million from Blossom Capital. This round took place ten months after Arrakis raised $7.5 million in a seed round supported by Accel.
The Series A was led by Blossom Capital with participation from Accel, as well as other investors, including GFC, MainObject, Rerail, Olivier Pomel, founder of Datadog, Olivier Godemon, Head of Business Products at OpenAI, and Junaid Hussein, founder of Cambridge Aerospace.
The raised funds will be used to triple Arrakis's staff, strengthen security measures, and increase the capacity of its AI platform. Additionally, the funds will support the company's expansion into the European Union, the United States, and the Middle East.
This startup, founded in January 2026 by Accel alumnus Raphael Quintanillo along with co-founders Harun Beltayfo, Roman Fuiyand, and Mikhail Galkov, focuses on applying AI in industries where digitalization is slowed down due to complexity and outdated infrastructure. The product is applicable in sectors such as aerospace, manufacturing, logistics, energy, telecommunications, and construction.
Instead of replacing existing enterprise software, Arrakis embeds AI agents directly into operational systems. Through a combination of AI engineers and an AI model-agnostic platform, the company allows organizations to train and manage their own custom agents using their data. This gives companies control over their intellectual property and data, and the platform supports working with multiple models as technology evolves.
According to CEO Raphael Quintanillo, one of the biggest opportunities for AI lies in industrial companies, as a significant part of the industry relies on isolated systems and manual processes. Arrakis's mission is to provide industrial organizations with tools to digitize operations while maintaining full control over performance, costs, and security.
Within six months of launch, Arrakis secured contracts with major corporate clients in Europe and the United States, including NYSE-listed companies operating in the energy, logistics, and industrial sectors. Clients have already achieved measurable improvements: some organizations reduced procurement times by up to 90%, while others gained the ability to view operational and financial processes in real time that were previously managed manually.
Arrakis's commercial model is closely tied to client results, as a significant portion of its fees is directly linked to the value created. The company operates out of offices in London and Paris and has already signed a contract with its first US client, indicating growing international demand for industrial AI adoption.
The new funding will help Arrakis strengthen its engineering and security capabilities while supporting rapid global growth. The company plans to significantly increase its workforce as it scales implementations across industrial markets. As manufacturers, logistics providers, and energy companies continue to modernize their operations, demand for AI platforms capable of integrating with existing systems while meeting strict security and data ownership requirements is expected to grow. With early customer support and fresh capital, Arrakis aims to become a leading platform for implementing AI in industrial organizations seeking to improve operational efficiency without replacing existing technological infrastructure.
