Ezra raises $21 million to make Full Body MRIs more accessible
Our mission at Ezra is to detect cancer early for everyone in the world. Since starting the company 5 years ago we have scanned thousands of people and have helped hundreds detect cancer early. Many of our members have gotten treatment and, because their cancer was caught early, are now cancer free. You can see some of their stories on our community page.
I am incredibly proud of what the Ezra team has achieved in our short history. We went from a single facility in New York City in 2018 to 18 facilities in 7 cities as of this month. We built the first FDA-cleared Prostate AI in the world. We were the first company to leverage AI to translate radiology reports into lay-term reports with Ezra Reporter AI. And last year we rolled out the world's first 30-minute full body MRI, powered by our FDA-cleared Ezra Flash AI. We are just getting started.
Today, I'm incredibly excited to announce that we have raised $21 million in a round led by Healthier Capital, a VC firm focused on applying innovative technology to healthcare. Healthier Capital was started by Amir Dan Rubin, former CEO of Amazon’s One Medical and one of the most accomplished healthcare technology entrepreneurs in the US. FirstMark Capital co-led the round, with participation from Allianz Life Ventures (venture arm of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America), the Schwarzman family, and the former Chairman of England’s NHS Lord David Prior. Existing investors Credo Ventures, Seedcamp, LDV Capital, Accomplice, Founders Future, Vlad Tenev, Anne Wojcicki, and Esther Dyson also participated.
Ezra stands apart in our industry by being the only company leveraging proprietary AIs across all three key components of the cancer screening process: imaging, analysis, and reporting. We will be using the new funding to double down on our AI efforts and continue investing in our master plan - offering a 15-minute full body MRI priced at $500. We've recently had a number of AI breakthroughs that give me confidence we will get there within the next 2 to 3 years.
We are also expanding geographically this year, with a goal to be in 20 cities and 50 facilities by the end of 2024. We have partnerships in place with all major outpatient imaging networks in the US, and the incredible Ezra operations team can now onboard a new facility in as little as two weeks.
Speaking of team, over the past 5 years we have built what I think is one of the most accomplished leadership teams in the healthcare AI space. Our Chief Scientist, Dr. Dan Sodickson, invented parallel imaging in MRI. Our Chief Operating Officer, David Girard - a nuclear physicist, was employee no. 4 and has excelled at every single role he has held in the company. Our Chief Commercial Officer, Jason Goodman, is a serial entrepreneur who has scaled and exited 3 businesses. Our Medical Director, Dr. Carol DerSarkissian, was one of the first doctors in the US to use AR/VR for work-force training and patient experiences. And our VP Engineering, Alex Stiglick, has successfully scaled engineering teams for startups for over 15 years. Ezra wouldn't be here without them.
I am also incredibly grateful to our members. 9 out of 10 members refer a loved one to Ezra, and 70% of our revenue comes from word of mouth and organic channels. I now receive an email or message from an Ezra member almost every week, thanking the Ezra team for saving their life. Building Ezra has been the hardest thing I've done in my life, and the most rewarding.
With this incredible team, our new capital, and our new investors, I'm excited about continuing to pursue our mission of detecting cancer early for everyone. This year, 10 million people will be diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Our ambition at Ezra is to help all these individuals find cancer early, when it's most curable. It has been 5 years, but it is still Day 1.