A curable disease continues to kill 54,000 South Africans every year. A Cape Town-based medtech startup is aiming to change that after raising $5 million (R85 million) in a pre-Series A funding round.
- A curable disease continues to kill 54,000 South Africans every year.
- A Cape Town-based medtech startup is aiming to change that after raising $5 million (R85 million) in a pre-Series A...
- According to the WHO 2025 World TB Report, 249,000 people fell ill with TB in South Africa in 2024, and...
- “The AI model flags individuals whose lung sounds have signals associated with TB in real time so healthcare providers can...
Keep reading for the full breakdown on AI — everything you need to know is covered below.
AI Diagnostics says the funding will help it scale its AI-powered stethoscope technology and close gaps in tuberculosis detection across Africa and Asia.
The funding round was led by The Steele Foundation for Hope, with participation from iFSP Group and the Global Innovation Fund, alongside follow-on investment from early backers including Africa Health Ventures and Savant.
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South Africa carries one of the highest TB burdens in the world. According to the WHO 2025 World TB Report, 249,000 people fell ill with TB in South Africa in 2024, and an estimated 54,000 died from the disease.
A national TB prevalence survey found that 58% of individuals who tested positive showed no symptoms, indicating that symptom-based screening misses the majority of infections. That single statistic exposes just how deeply the TB epidemic is undercounted across the country.
AI stethoscope puts TB diagnostics in frontline hands
At the centre of the South African MedTech company’s model is the Ostium digital stethoscope, paired with its proprietary AI software, AI.TB.
The device is designed to detect tuberculosis by analysing lung sounds in real time, providing frontline health workers with a TB screening tool that does not depend on specialist equipment or advanced clinical expertise at the point of first contact.
“The AI model flags individuals whose lung sounds have signals associated with TB in real time so healthcare providers can refer them for diagnostic testing immediately,” says Braden van Breda, CEO of AI Diagnostics. “For health systems trying to close the detection gap, this changes the availability and the geography of screening.”
“We back technical entrepreneurs who are closest to the problems they’re solving, and AI Diagnostics is a clear example of why that matters,” says Joe Exner, CEO of The Steele Foundation for Hope.
“In communities without X-ray infrastructure or specialist clinicians, this puts real diagnostic capability in the hands of nurses and community health workers.”
$5M funding signals a new era for African healthtech Investment
AI Diagnostics holds approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and has screened more than 1,000 patients in South Africa. The company is currently conducting clinical research across more than 10 countries in Africa and Asia.
“The stethoscope is a universal symbol of medicine. It’s in every doctor’s office, used for routine check-ups to diagnose respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal diseases. But it hasn’t changed significantly in over a hundred years,” says Rowena Luk, Managing Partner at Africa Health Ventures. “We anticipate it will evolve in the next decade, and that this change will affect healthcare markets globally. We believe AI Diagnostics could be at the forefront of that change.”
Van Breda framed the $5M raise as a turning point for African healthtech investment: “It signals that investors increasingly see global health not as philanthropy but as a viable and necessary area of commercial investment. TB has historically been underfunded relative to its burden precisely because it disproportionately affects low- and middle-income populations.”