Anterior, a company that leverages AI technology to expedite the often-lengthy process of gaining health insurance approval for necessary medical procedures, has successfully secured a Series A funding round worth $20 million. This latest investment has catapulted the company to a post-money valuation of $95 million and was led by prominent venture capital firm NEA. According to reliable sources familiar with the deal, existing investors Sequoia – who played the lead role in Anterior’s initial seed funding round of $3.2 million in September of 2022 – and Neo, an influential accelerator that helped launch the company in the summer of the same year, also participated in this significant round of financing.
The diverse group of investors also features a notable list of angel investors, including the likes of Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI, who was recently hired by tech giant Microsoft in the role of Head of Consumer AI division.
When contacted, NEA and Anterior declined to comment on the matter.
Formerly known by the name Co:helm, Anterior was co-founded by Abdel Mahmoud, a former doctor turned computer science postgraduate who made the transition to the tech industry due to his dissatisfaction with spending excessive amounts of time on administrative tasks instead of focusing on his patients.
The company has developed a revolutionary AI-driven co-pilot to assist healthcare professionals in streamlining the process of gathering all the necessary medical documentation required by insurance companies. By significantly reducing the amount of time and resources spent on these administrative functions, Anterior’s solution aims to minimize the risk of denied approvals and accelerate patient access to vital medical treatments.
While currently specializing in prior authorization automation, Anterior has ambitious plans to expand its scope to cover other critical medical administrative tasks in the near future.
Joining Anterior’s board of directors as a result of NEA’s involvement is Mohamad Makhzoumi, Managing General Partner of NEA’s healthcare division and co-CEO of the firm. Makhzoumi’s track record includes successful investments in a variety of highly promising companies, such as Tempus – a pioneering genomic testing and data analysis organization founded by Eric Lefkofsky, the man behind Groupon and set to go public next week with a projected valuation of up to $6.1 billion. Makhzoumi has also previously invested in Xaira, a cutting-edge AI drug discovery startup that attracted over $1 billion in funding and made its highly anticipated debut earlier this year.
Anterior faces fierce competition from Cohere Health, another major player in the prior authorization automation market. In February, Cohere Health managed to secure a substantial $50 million in funding, thanks to a round led by the highly reputable Deerfield Management. The financing round also saw the participation of previous investors such as Define Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Longitude Capital, and Polaris Partners. Since its inception five years ago, Cohere Health has managed to accumulate a total of $106 million in funding.
