Why Halcyon Angels invested in JuneBrain and Insight Optics

Halcyon Angels is announcing $135,000 in investments for two companies improving patient access to high-quality medical care through machine learning and AI: JuneBrain and Insight Optics.

JuneBrain, founded by Dr. Samantha Scott, has created proprietary eye-scanning technology to facilitate identifying new disease activity outside the clinic. JuneBrain’s portable headset brings retinal scanning and monitoring into eye care retail settings, pharmacies, clinics, and ultimately homes to provide more the more frequent monitoring that is required for disease states like macular degeneration. We’re pleased to announce that Halcyon Angels joined JuneBrain’s pre-seed round to disrupt the legacy ocular coherence tomography (OCT) industry and improve outcomes for up to 500 million patients worldwide using AI and automation.

Insight Optics is reducing preventable blindness by enabling primary care physicians (PCPs) to record and refer retinal videos to local eye specialists. By improving PCPs’ ability to capture relevant information, Insight Optics’ machine learning network increases the frequency of retinal screening for early detection and better monitoring, thus improving patient outcomes. CEO Aaron Enten is leading the charge to leverage technology to connect patients, specialists, and data to, putting the power of specialists in the hands of primary care providers. Halcyon Angels joined Insight Optics’ seed round to bring the company’s telemedicine platform-as-a-service solution to a growing number of healthcare providers.

It’s interesting to see two ventures that have different innovative approaches related to eye health. Halcyon Angels saw that, in the US, 154 million people are at risk of preventable blindness from retinopathy, 90% of which is preventable through early detection and treatment. Insight Optics is making it easier for this population to receive critical monitoring from their PCP and increasing access to specialist care. JuneBrain is increasing monitoring outside the specialist’s office to better inform treatment plans for the 100 million Americans living with neurological diseases and 11 million people who have macular degeneration.

Are you a founder of an impact-driven startup? Learn more about the Halcyon Angel network here.