Elucid has raised $80m in a Series C financing round led by Elevage Medical Technologies to advance its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered diagnostic tools.

The funding, which Elucid said had participation from industry strategics and existing investors, brings the US-based company’s total funding to $121m.

Elucid has developed US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared software that can non-invasively characterise arterial plaque from CT angiography images. The tool, Elucid says, produces a three-dimensional view of arteries which its algorithms use to quantify vessel structure and plaque composition.

Plaque rupture is the most common cause of acute coronary events. Elucid states that traditional methods of quantifying plaque build-up use visual assessments, which can sometimes be subjective. Elucid says its software is validated against thousands of tissue samples and can help objectively assess the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The company is also seeking to expand the technology’s indication to measure fractional flow reserve, which it will use to measure coronary blockages and quantify the amount of ischemia present.

Series C round leader Elevage was launched by Silicon Valley-based Patient Square Capital in May 2023. The investment company put aside $300m for the new business to help promising medtech startups.

Elevage CEO Dr Evan Melrose said: “[This investment] is pivotal to support the development and commercialisation of [Elucid’s] groundbreaking diagnostic tools. We see an important market need for AI-powered cardiovascular software and are excited to partner with Elucid to help improve the diagnosis and management of heart disease and benefit patients worldwide.”

Elucid is not the only company exploring AI-driven insights for cardiovascular risk. In April 2023, HeartFlow, which is developing similar technology, closed a $215m venture capital funding round.

A 2023 report by GlobalData predicts that global revenue for AI platforms across healthcare will reach $18.8bn by 2027.