Internationally, IT systems in the healthcare sector are struggling due to outdated platforms. Fortunately, a fresh wave of startups is emerging in this field. The U.K.-based startup Anima has created a unique platform that resembles a combination of Slack, Salesforce, and Figma. Anima specifically designed this platform for healthcare clinics and hospitals to enhance their care services.
The company recently secured a $12 million Series A funding round, with Molten Ventures leading the way. Existing investors Hummingbird Ventures, Amino Collective, and Y Combinator also participated, along with new angel investors such as Sidar Sahin, the founder of Peak Games.
Anima, a graduate of Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch, launched in September 2022 and is now being utilized in 150 NHS clinics in England. The startup’s software enables clinic staff to efficiently handle and organize documents, incorporating a greater level of automation than traditional systems. 
According to Shun Pang, co-founder and CEO of Anima, their platform is capable of autonomously gathering a detailed medical history for any patient complaint. It then presents this information to the clinic, along with potential differential diagnoses and recommended next steps. This guarantees the identification of crucial warning signs. “The entire clinic works together using a real-time multiplayer dashboard, similar to Figma, where they can easily share cases and communicate with each other using a Slack-like user experience,” he said.
In addition, he mentioned that Anima’s processing system has the ability to automatically analyze various types of documents, including handwritten notes, diagrams, and images, and generate a concise summary with organized information.
Rivals in this field include AccuRx, a U.K.-based company that has secured £36.6 million in funding so far and is currently in the post-Series B stage. In the United States, Memora Health has secured an impressive $80.5 million in funding, while NexHealth, a company that has already completed its Series C funding round, has raised an impressive $177.2 million so far.
Pang mentioned that they view their main competitors as companies that have a solid plan to create a platform that facilitates the entire clinical workflow, similar to how Rippling revolutionized HR or Salesforce transformed distribution.
He is also quite unique as a founder in this field, having been a practicing doctor before starting this startup: “I have a strong technical background.” I received my medical training at Cambridge, and I also have a strong background in software engineering, having self-taught myself and contributing significantly to the codebase of Anima. I was essentially creating something that I personally desired and believed would have a significant impact on saving lives.
Thanks to its impressive progress and the expertise of its founders, Anima has successfully established a presence within the NHS, an organization known for its challenging nature.
In a statement, Inga Deakin, a principal at Molten Ventures, highlighted the rapid growth of the software and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors in healthcare. However, she also noted that many solutions in this field require time to integrate and fully realize their potential. Anima is experiencing significant growth due to its ability to make a direct and immediate impact.
