Qure.ai Bags Gates Foundation Grant to Advance AI-Powered Point-of-Care Ultrasound

The multimillion-dollar grant is expected to support the development of AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound tools and the creation of a large open-source multimodal database to advance future prevention and identification innovations.

Global digital health innovator Qure.ai has secured a major grant from the Gates Foundation to advance AI-powered point-of-care ultrasound, marking a significant milestone in its global health journey.

The development was also shared publicly by Qure.ai Co-Founder and CEO Prashant Warier, who described the grant as deeply meaningful for the team and its mission.

The multimillion-dollar grant is expected to support the development of AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound tools and the creation of a large open-source multimodal database to advance future prevention and identification innovations.

“In a bid to reach the unreachable we have innovated our way around the world over the last 10 years, taking AI-enabled X-ray to some of the remotest regions of sub-Saharan Africa, to the heights of Everest and depths of rural Southeast Asia, tackling the detection and diagnosis of TB. This is powerful progress that has reduced diagnosis rates from 14 days to 1–2 days, without even a clinician present. Now, with this grant from the Gates Foundation, we are excited to leverage this expertise further to scale and reach more people,” said Prashant Warier, Founder and CEO of Qure.ai.

The database aligns with WHO lung-health diagnostic pathways and include non-identifiable clinical history, medical images such as chest X-rays, thoracic ultrasound and high-resolution CT scans, cough and lung recordings, and laboratory or biological markers. This effort is intended to enable researchers and innovators worldwide to develop, validate, and refine new AI models.

“With the very latest developments in digital health and artificial intelligence, Qure.ai can help reach healthcare’s blind spots, bringing high-quality diagnostics within reach of every clinic, health worker, and child, no matter where they live,” added Dr. Shibu Vijayan, Chief Medical Officer – Global Health at Qure.ai.

A key focus of the grant is the early detection of tuberculosis and pneumonia in under-resourced regions, where access to diagnostics remains limited. Both diseases are curable if detected early, yet tuberculosis causes approximately 1.23 million deaths annually, while pneumonia accounts for nearly 2 million deaths each year, including around 700,000 children under the age of five.

“This grant will allow us to build on the years of continuous innovation we have spearheaded in public health and our commitment to pushing the boundaries of what AI can do for global health. It brings together pneumonia, tuberculosis, and broader lung health priorities, with a focus on children in low and middle-income countries. A child dies of pneumonia every 43 seconds which is an unacceptable and an avoidable loss. It underscores the urgent need for better diagnostics and equitable access to care,” said Dr. Justy Antony Chiramal, Project Lead and Clinical Director, Global Health Innovation at Qure.ai.

Qure.ai currently has deployments across more than 105 countries and over 4,800 sites worldwide, supporting the identification and management of tuberculosis, lung cancer, and neurocritical conditions such as stroke.

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