Korean medical AI startup AIRS Medical, based in Seoul, was selected as one of Korea’s baby unicorn startups by ‘The Baby Unicorn 200 Fostering Project’.

The project was held by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) as an effort to strengthen Korea’s startup ecosystem by discovering startup companies with innovative business models and growth potential. The startup companies that are selected will receive governmental support to become competent global companies that are valued over $1 billion US dollars. Only 40 companies out of the 254 that applied were selected by the government this year. Those selected by the project will receive 300 million won as market development funds.

AIRS Medical, founded in 2018 by a group of Seoul National University graduates, develops AI-based Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) acceleration technology. The young startup aims to make the MRI experience affordable and pleasant by reducing scan time. “Time is so crucial in the medical world,” said AIRS Medical Chief Executive Officer Jingu Lee. “Our solution, SwiftFocusMR, will save lives by reducing the long waiting time in and outside the scanner where saving time is absolutely critical. This also leads to increasing hospital throughput and overall patient satisfaction, especially for pediatric and claustrophobic patients.”

The company has previously showcased some of its technology in the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting and placed 1st in the Multi coil 4x acceleration section of the Facebook FastMRI Challenge hosted by Facebook AI Research (FAIR) and NYU Langone Health in 2019.

AIRS Medical’s team is currently taking steps to get approval from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the second quarter of next year to officially enter the global stage.