Better Medicine, a startup developing AI-powered diagnostic tools for radiology, has raised €1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Soulmates Ventures, with participation from Specialist VC, UT Ventures, and several angel investors. The round builds on prior funding and grants, bringing total backing to nearly €6 million.

The company will use the funds to accelerate its European rollout, prepare for FDA clearance, and pilot deployments in the U.S. Its flagship product, BMVision Kidney, is the world’s first CE-certified AI tool for kidney cancer detection under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR 2017/745). In clinical evaluations, radiologists using the solution reported up to 52% time savings and a 99.2% detection rate.

Radiology departments worldwide face increasing pressure from a growing volume of scans and a shortage of qualified professionals. In the UK, there are just 10 radiologists per 100,000 people, with 50% of job postings going unfilled. Demand for imaging is expected to outpace workforce growth, contributing to delays, missed diagnoses, and burnout. Globally, an estimated 12 million hours per year are spent on manual lesion measurements and reporting.

Better Medicine addresses these challenges with clinically validated AI models that assist radiologists with detection, measurement, and reporting of oncological findings in CT scans. The technology integrates into standard radiology infrastructure, including PACS and viewers, enabling automated lesion detection and measurement. A companion tool, BM iMeasure, supports semi-automated lesion measurements and structured reporting.

Founder and CEO Priit Salumaa said: “Radiologists are under immense pressure to maintain total focus on highly repetitive tasks that don’t necessarily require medical expertise but are still critical for diagnosis. Imagine a second set of eyes, but multiplied by 1000, always alert and never tired: we are making early cancer detection easy and freeing doctors to avoid burnout and focus on what truly requires their judgment. The upside is more human lives saved.”

BMVision Kidney uses deep-learning models trained on annotated clinical datasets to detect malignant kidney lesions. In clinical studies, the solution achieved 96% standalone accuracy and 99.2% detection rate when combined with radiologist assessment.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Tartu, Estonia, Better Medicine operates with a global team across six countries and has secured clinical collaborations with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu University, and Pärnu Hospital.

Michal Sikyta, investment director at Soulmates Ventures, added: “By supporting radiologists and other specialists with reliable AI tools, they are helping improve patient outcomes while easing pressure on overloaded health systems. We’re excited to back an experienced team as they prepare to make a major impact in modern medicine.”

The new funding will support commercial rollout across Europe, expansion of the product portfolio to additional organs and metastatic sites, and preparation for FDA clearance. Clinical pilots in the US are planned, and the company is engaging with health insurance providers in Estonia to demonstrate cost-benefit outcomes and sustainable market adoption.