PurpleAI announced that it has been finally selected as a Deep Tech TIPS company by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for 2025.
Deep Tech TIPS is an advanced track of the TIPS program, in which the government and private investors jointly discover and support startups in the field of cutting-edge technology. The government-supported R&D funding for Deep Tech TIPS amounts to about 1.5 billion KRW, which is three times larger than the standard TIPS program. The evaluation criteria, including technological capability and business potential, are also relatively more rigorous.
PurpleAI is a startup co-founded by the AI Healthcare Team of SK AX (formerly SK C&C), as well as professors from the radiology departments of Seoul National University Hospital and Ajou University Hospital. The company was spun off from SK AX in October of last year. Since 2019, when it was under SK C&C, the three organizations have jointly conducted research and development to secure medical device solutions and regulatory approvals for brain hemorrhage AI, cerebral infarction AI, and cerebral aneurysm AI. These solutions have been applied to approximately 40 general hospitals in Korea, demonstrating clinical efficacy.
The company's flagship solution, "Medical Insight Plus Brain Hemorrhage," is a SaMD (software-based medical device) that analyzes brain CT images within seconds to assist medical professionals in diagnosing brain hemorrhages. Various validation studies have shown that it improves diagnostic accuracy and reduces consultation time for healthcare providers. The solution has demonstrated its competitiveness by obtaining the first-ever Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Class 3 medical device approval in this field, designation as an innovative medical technology by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and product approval from the US FDA.
Based on this TIPS support, PurpleAI plans to establish a lineup of imaging and multimodal AI solutions that provide end-to-end support for stroke care workflows.
PurpleAI's selection for Deep Tech TIPS was made possible through investment and recommendation by Big Basin Capital, a TIPS operator. Pilgu Yoon, CEO of Big Basin Capital, stated, "PurpleAI's stroke AI solutions demonstrate world-class performance among similar medical devices, and have achieved significant progress in commercialization, including insurance reimbursement, which was the reason for our recommendation."
Byungjun Park, CEO of PurpleAI, said, "Being selected for Deep Tech TIPS recognizes our company's technological and medical domain expertise as well as our market expansion potential," and added, "We will focus on completing a comprehensive AI platform for stroke and accelerating our global achievements."
Representative AI imaging diagnosis companies in Korea include Lunit, a KOSDAQ-listed company specializing in lung and breast diagnostics, and VUNO, which specializes in brain disease diagnostics.
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