Niramai secures research funding from CDC Group for Covid-19 solution

Breast cancer screening startup Niramai Health Analytix on Tuesday said it has received research funding from UK-based development finance institution CDC Group for its Covid-19 screening solution. 

The Bengaluru based company did not disclose the grant amount.

"The research project funding is being used to enable free pilots at public places to fine tune and enhance the FeverTest product to address the realistic conditions of crowd movement and handle new requirements to ensure COVID safety,” Geetha Manjunath, founder and CEO of Niramai, said in a statement. 

Last year, Niramai launched its Covid-19 screening solution, FeverTest, to help identify likely infected people at entrances of workplaces, hospitals, educational institutions, residential communities and public places.

The FeverTest software enables screening for Covid-19 symptoms using computer vision and AI (artificial intelligence). The solution, the company said, is being used at corporate sites of Morgan Stanley, Kotak Bank and multiple corporate parks of RMZ across India.

FeverTest is also deployed at Bengaluru railway station in partnership with South Western Railways.

“The financial support from CDC has enabled us to successfully pilot our AI-enabled Covid screening product at IT tech parks, schools and some hospitals across Indian cities,” Manjunath said. 

 Niramai, according to Manjunath, is also working on other solutions.  

“Women can now avail Niramai breast health screening in the comfort of their homes.   We have also made a significant contribution to XraySetu, the WhatsApp chatbot for Chest Xray analysis, which was developed in collaboration with ARTPARK and the Indian Institute of Science. XraySetu is a free AI-based service to rural doctors that helps screen chest X-rays,” she said. 

Niramai is funded by Pi Ventures, a fund backed by CDC Group.

Manjunath founded Niramai in July 2016 with former colleague Nidhi Mathur. The company last raised funds in February 2019 when it received $6 million for its Series A.