Optain Health Secures $26M for AI Retinal Screening

Optain Health has announced the successful closure of a $26 million Series A funding round, which was oversubscribed and supported by both new and existing investors. The funding will support the company's expansion efforts, particularly within the U.S. market.

Investment Led by Insight Partners

The Series A round was led by Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors. Optain Health is a healthcare technology company focused on early detection of eye and systemic diseases through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), robotic retinal imaging, and teleophthalmology.

“Our mission is simple: faster, easier, more equitable disease screening,” said Jeff Dunkel, CEO of Optain.

"After two years of major international growth, we are ready to scale in the U.S. This Series A funds our enterprise deployments, opens new markets, and pushes the frontier of what the retina can reveal."

Retinal Imaging Through Oculomics Technology

Optain’s platform is centered around Oculomics, a single, non-invasive test that employs a portable robotic camera to capture retinal images without requiring pupil dilation. The platform uses AI-driven workflows to detect multiple sight-threatening conditions, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Participation from U.S. Health Systems

The funding round included investment from seven major U.S. health systems, including Memorial Hermann Health System, Northwell Health, Novant Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and UPMC.

Combined, these healthcare systems provide care to more than 28 million patients across 25 states.

“Optain represents our conviction in the power of better AI—deployed at the edge, inside clinical workflows,” said Scott Barclay, Managing Director at Insight Partners.

“By making retinopathy screening truly accessible, Optain is already changing care delivery—and we believe it will become the upstream gateway in primary care for AI-driven diagnoses across many conditions.”

Global Expansion Strategy and International Support

Several additional investors are supporting Optain’s planned expansion into Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. These investors include Informed Ventures, Lumio Capital, Meridian Ventures and UniQuest Extension Fund.

“We’re proud to be translating world-class Australian science into real-world impact,” said Zachary Tan, MD, President of Optain.

The company noted that its technology is based on more than a decade of research led by Professor Mingguang He in Australia. Optain plans to invest in new research and development initiatives in Australia and expand its local team to support international growth.

“We are making significant investments in new Australian R&D and growing our local team, who will lead our global expansion outside of the US. Exporting Australian AI innovation to improve equitable access to healthcare and patient outcomes around the world is a mission we are proud to lead.”