Aiomic is a health tech company that develops a Surgical Advanced Warning (SAW) system to combat postoperative complications. We had a chat with the CTO of Aiomic, Alexander Bonde, about the company’s mission and vision.

What is the idea behind the company?

Aiomic is a health tech company that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to analyze complex healthcare data to optimize healthcare treatments.

Our first product is the Surgical Advanced Warning (SAW) system, which targets postoperative complications. Through automated tracking and real-time risk assessment, the system will function as a business intelligence tool for hospitals, a decision support tool for healthcare practitioners, and an individualized patient empowerment tool by allowing patients to gain insight into their risk profiles.

What is the key driver for Aiomic?

Through the founding team’s experience as medical professionals and practicing surgeons, we have first-hand experience with the devasting effects of hospital-related and postoperative complications. Postoperative complications place a massive strain on hospital resources worldwide, complicating 5-15% of surgical procedures with an estimated cost to the US healthcare system of 31 billion dollars annually. However, you could potentially avoid 70% of the complications  if advanced warning and risk prediction tools were available.

What have you already learned from being in the Venture Lab program?

The main lessons from the Venture Lab program revolve around business development. Specifically, we have improved our business and price models, regulatory and financing strategies, and product and recruitment strategies.

What would be the optimal outcome when finishing the program?

Our main objective is to develop a minimal viable product capable of tracking postoperative complications. Thus, the optimal outcome when finishing the program would be to secure funding for the continued development of our product.

Who are your main competitors and how do you differ from them? 

Several companies focus on hospital complications by fielding predictive models to provide an advanced warning system to healthcare providers.

However, the system we are developing differs in several aspects. We are harnessing artificial intelligence to efficiently take advantage of the many healthcare data available. We can track complications early on through efficient analyses of healthcare records and ensure better patient treatment. Simultaneously, the system will allow hospital units a real-time insight into incidences and driving factors of complications, which can pave the way for preemptive changes to the current standard operating procedures for the benefit of both healthcare personnel and patients.

What has been the most challenging part of being a CTO in an early-stage start-up?

In an early-stage start-up, you operate on a limited budget, and the whole founder team needs to contribute in various ways as there is no well-defined chain of command or a solid decision-making infrastructure. Thus, it demands that you strike the right balance between maximizing production while maintaining the spirit and drive that characterizes an early-stage start-up. 

What are the main differences between working in an academic and a commercial setting?

In academia, success parameters often revolve around generating new treatment-relevant data and identifying disease processes. In a start-up, you tend to focus much more on the commercial aspects. Perhaps your idea is excellent in terms of saving patients’ lives, but it is bound to fail in a commercial setting if you are unable to demonstrate a financial upside and a plan for how investors get a return on their investment.

What considerations do you have regarding the fundraising process?

Our company is unique in that we are developing a product that we experienced a big need for in our everyday work-life. So, some might say that the customers we are targeting are ourselves and our colleagues at the hospitals, which makes us personally invested in creating a system that can positively impact both patients and healthcare personnel.  

Thus, our desire is to remain heavily involved in the development process, and we are searching for investors who not only appreciate the financial potential of the system but also share the vision of making a positive impact.

Fortunately, we firmly believe that we can create both a financial upside and impact with our product, which makes our company attractive to investors.