Disruptor 50 2021

31. Sight Diagnostics

Founders: Yossi Pollack (CEO), Daniel Levner
Launched: 2011
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
Funding:
$123.8 million
Valuation: $594.4 million (PitchBook)
Key technologies:
Artificial intelligence, machine learning
Industry:
Health Care
Previous appearances on Disruptor 50 List: 0

Persephone Kavallines

Don't let the big stain left by Theranos lead you to conclude there is not a revolution in blood testing technology on the horizon. It is necessary, and companies like Sight Diagnostics may be among the most promising, and real, breakthroughs.

Developed over almost a decade ago, Sight's technology — which uses AI-based computer vision algorithms to turn blood into analyzable images in which cells and anomalies can be detected — drastically reduces the amount of time it takes to test blood and deliver lab-grade results. The company's founders previously worked at Mobileye, a pioneer in AI-powered cameras for self-driving.

Over 4 billion complete blood count (CBC) tests all over the world are conducted annually for routine medical exams. Vials of blood are then shipped to labs for analysis, while results can take hours if not days to deliver.

With only two drops of blood from a finger prick, the company's compact blood analyzer known as Sight OLO is able to perform a CBC that can detect components and features of blood that may be related to various conditions — the company has stressed that, unlike Theranos — which is now tied up in the court system over allegations of fraud — it does not claim to be able to run dozens of tests from a single drop of blood. Sight received FDA clearance to market its compact blood analyzer in 2019.

Sight's first product, Parasight, diagnosed malaria in close to one million tests across 24 countries.

Sight OLO was used in national responses to the Covid pandemic, from the U.K. to its home nation of Israel. Sight partnered with Oxford University Hospital in the U.K. to deploy OLO at the entrance of the emergency room — in conjunction with Oxford blood testing and AI technology — to perform quick Covid triage identifying patients at the highest risk within minutes of arrival and thus minimizing infection.

In August 2020, the company raised $71 million in Series D funding with participation from Koch Disruptive Technologies, Longliv Ventures and OurCrowd, to support Sight's international growth and advance research.

Sight has partnerships to deploy over 1,000 analyzers in the coming years, including a deal with Pfizer, through which the company's blood testing technology will support Pfizer therapy administered by the National Health System (NHS).

—Contributed by AJ Horch

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