Lunit acquires New Zealand's Volpara Health, paving way for overseas expansion

Volpara CEO Teri Thomas, left, and Lunit CEO Suh Beom-seok pose for the photo at Lunit's headquarters in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday. [LUNIT]

Korean startup Lunit has acquired New Zealand-based medical AI developer Volpara Health in a bid to accelerate its expansion into the U.S. health care market.

The medical AI company announced Wednesday that it had completed the acquisition of Volpara Health, which specializes in breast cancer solutions, for $193 million.

Volpara currently accounts for 42 percent of all breast X-rays taken in the United States. It possesses more than 100 million mammogram images and has more than 2,000 distribution channels with U.S. medical facilities, which Lunit believes will provide them a robust entry into the market.

Lunit's short-term goal following the acquisition is to sell its screening programs Lunit Insight MMG and Lunit Insight DBT.

“The U.S. market is crucial for Lunit to gain data,” Lunit CEO Suh Beom-seok said at the press event at Lunit’s headquarters in southern Seoul. “No other country, including Korea, has eased legal regulations for us to obtain the patients’ data, which is essential for Lunit to reach the ultimate goal of establishing an autonomous AI platform.”

Lunit envisions a world where AI can autonomously detect cancers. Realizing that world, however, will require training that model on vast swathes of medical data.

“Hospitals, even in Europe and other parts of the world, are very conservative to having their data exposed,” Seo continued. “But in order to develop customized AI tailored for each patient’s body type, we need that connection to medical facilities.

“Through the infrastructure provided by Volpara, we have the opportunity to achieve this integration,” Seo added.

Volpara CEO Teri Thomas also emphasized the importance of the acquisition, noting that breast cancer is one of most commonly diagnosed diseases but that the country lacks the workforce necessary to detect every case.

In 2023, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended age for breast cancer screening from 50 to 40, advising women aged 40 to 75 to undergo mammograms every two years.

“The biggest driver that causes people to want to buy our software and compel more interest in AI is that there is a growing shortage of radiologists as well as technologists,” Thomas said. “They cannot keep up with the demand and they want things that will speed up [the process].”

The U.S. AI health care market is projected to grow 42 percent annually and reach 51.3 billion won by 2030, according to data from market research firm Insights10.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]