This startup raised $10m to give doctors the one thing they need the most — time
The CEO of Blackbird-backed Heidi left years of medical training as a vascular surgeon behind to solve what he believes is the biggest issue in medicine right now.
“Vascular surgeons keep blood vessels flowing if they're not in the heart or the brain," explains Thomas Kelly to me. It's a career path he recently gave up to co-found an AI-enabled technology startup, Heidi, to help free GPs from clinical administration.
The somewhat unusual career change has paid off with a recent AUD$10 million Series A to power Heidi's growth and product development, led by Blackbird — with participation by Hostplus, Hesta, Wormhole Capital, Archangel Ventures, Possible Ventures and Saniel Ventures.
Heidi was born out of Kelly's own frustrations, particularly when working in rural areas, when he spent less time doing what he was trained to do, and more time on administrative tasks.
Michael Tolo, general partner at Blackbird, says Heidi provided a path to scale the most scarce resource in our healthcare system — clinicians. “Heidi's AI allows clinicians to spend less time on administrative tasks, and more time on what matters most: to foster enduring relationships with their patients and invest in preventative care,” says Tolo.
