Kai Health Selected for Google for Startups Campus “Women Founders Fund”
Kai Health, an AI-based infertility treatment solutions company, has been selected for the “Women Founders Fund (WFF)” run by Google for Startups Campus, a program that supports women founders worldwide.
The Women Founders Fund is the latest program under the Google for Startups Campus Founders Fund. It is designed to help women founders leading AI-based startups in the Asia-Pacific region grow into strong leaders and successfully scale their companies, providing support including USD 100,000 (approximately KRW 130 million), mentoring, and access to Google products.
To be selected, a startup must have at least one woman founder among its founding members. Additional factors considered include the startup’s headquarters location (Korea, India, or Japan), fundraising stage (Seed to Series A), the technical feasibility and practical usefulness of its AI application, readiness for global expansion, and the participating woman founder’s English proficiency.
This year, a total of seven startups were selected: three from Korea, two from Japan, and two from India. Kai Health, which provides an AI solution for infertility care, was selected alongside Moonees, which offers a mobile solution for sleep induction, and Generateit, an AI startup focused on building design.
Kai Health was recognized for the potential benefits its use of AI could deliver to both clinicians and patients in solving infertility challenges, as well as for its strong prospects for global business expansion. The company’s embryo-analysis AI solution is expected to improve per-cycle pregnancy success rates and reduce the time and cost required to achieve pregnancy.
Kai Health recently obtained European medical device certification and is planning to accelerate its global expansion. The company also expects to pursue Korean medical device certification after conducting clinical trials with Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in 2024. In addition, Kai Health plans to help more couples achieve healthy pregnancies through another solution under research with Maria Hospital, aimed at improving egg (oocyte) quality.
Hyejun Lee, CEO of Kai Health, said the company has worked proactively to develop technology that can increase pregnancy success rates for many couples struggling through complex and difficult infertility treatments. She added that she is grateful for the opportunity to further advance the technology through the Women Founders Fund, while also growing and supporting one another alongside fellow women founders. She also said she expects that learning and growing within Google’s creative, diversity-respecting culture will help Kai Health take another step forward as a larger company.
Mike Kim, Head of Google for Startups Campus Korea and APAC, said he was pleased to be able to provide the Women Founders Fund to Korean startups driving innovation with AI across areas including architecture, sleep, and infertility treatment. He added that the strong participation from Korean companies was so notable that additional companies were selected, and that he could feel the passion among Korea’s women founders for growth. He also said he expects the fund will serve as a stepping stone for participating startups as they expand globally, and that Google will continue to actively support women founders in Korea and around the world.
Jeongwook Lim, Director-General for Startup and Venture Innovation at Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups, who attended the awards ceremony, said that since opening in 2015, Google for Startups Campus Seoul has actively supported any founder leading AI innovation in the startup ecosystem. He added that he hopes Google will continue to show sustained support and interest in the development of Korea’s startup ecosystem, and that he expects the finalist companies will fully demonstrate their capabilities in AI innovation going forward.
Meanwhile, Google for Startups Campus plans to host a “Founders Academy” for women founders in the first half of 2024. The Founders Academy will offer tailored workshops and mentoring to strengthen women startup founders’ leadership and talent management capabilities.
Source: Medifonews · By Hyung-gyu Lee · Registered Sep 25, 2023 (10:42 KST) · Originally published in Korean · English translation