Saykara Raises $5 Million Funding Round for Pioneering AI-Powered Voice Assistant for Physicians

By AIT News Desk On Sep 17, 2018

The Saykara virtual assistant automatically creates documentation and lets physicians focus on patient care

Saykara, the leading voice and AI-powered virtual assistant for physicians, announced today an investment of $5 million led by SpringRock Ventures, a venture fund focused on the convergence of health care and technology. Other investors include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Elevate Innovation Partners (EIP), and existing investor Madrona Venture Group. Kirsten Morbeck, Managing Director of SpringRock will join Saykara’s Board of Directors.

Saykara has developed a voice-based solution to address the documentation burden faced by clinicians. By some measures, physicians spend an average of two hours in front of a computer for every one hour of patient time. As a result, it’s a leading cause of physician dissatisfaction and burnout – and one of the most pressing problems facing the healthcare industry today.

“Saykara is led by Harjinder Sandhu, one of the world’s top healthcare experts in speech recognition and natural language processing. Saykara’s differentiated approach to solving the documentation burden for physicians has enabled it to build a compelling product that clinicians find indispensable,” said Kirsten Morbeck of SpringRock Ventures. “We look forward to helping Saykara’s team address this massive problem with a market-leading solution.”

Founded in 2015 in Seattle, a hub of health tech and AI innovation, Saykara makes it easier for physicians to interact with the electronic medical record (EMR) system through a simple and easy-to-use voice- and AI-powered mobile application. Physicians using Saykara have seen up to a 70 percent reduction in time spent on documentation while also improving note quality and eliminating after-hours charting. Saykara is commercially available today and is live at several mid-size and large healthcare systems nationwide.

“We are excited to invest in Saykara to help leverage voice technologies in healthcare,” said Peter Fleischut, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian. “We look forward to supporting Saykara to advance this emerging technology and further enhance the provider and patient experience,” added David Tsay, M.D. Ph.D., Associate Chief Transformation Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian.

OrthoIndy, a highly respected orthopedic practice in the Midwest and an early pilot site is in the process of expanding their Saykara rollout. “As someone who sees over 130 patients a week, Saykara has changed my life!” said Mihir Patel, M.D. and member of the Board of Directors at OrthoIndy. “I used to struggle to get my notes completed on time, but with Saykara, I am able to complete high-quality notes before I leave the clinic. Now I get to spend more time with my patients and they love it!”