Anterior grabs $20M from NEA to expedite health insurance approvals with AI

Anterior, a company utilizing AI to streamline the approval process for health insurance coverage of medical procedures, has secured a $20 million Series A funding round at a post-money valuation of $95 million. The round was led by NEA, with participation from existing investors Sequoia and Neo. Sequoia had previously led Anterior’s $3.2 million seed round, while Neo, an accelerator, assisted in the company’s launch in the summer of 2022.

The funding round also attracted a number of angel investors, including Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI, who recently joined Microsoft to head its consumer AI division.

Both NEA and Anterior have yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the deal.

Anterior, originally known as Co:helm, was founded by Abdel Mahmoud, a former doctor who transitioned to a career in tech after becoming frustrated with the administrative tasks overshadowing patient care. The company has developed an LLM-powered co-pilot to assist healthcare professionals in efficiently gathering required medical documentation for insurance purposes, aiming to decrease denial rates and expedite patient access to treatment.

While Anterior’s current focus is on prior authorization automation, the company has plans to expand into other areas of medical administrative functions in the future.

Mohamad Makhzoumi, managing general partner at NEA’s healthcare division and co-CEO of the firm, has joined Anterior’s board. Makhzoumi’s portfolio includes investments in companies like Tempus and Xaira, both prominent in the healthcare and AI sectors.

Anterior faces competition from Cohere Health, another player in the prior authorization automation space. Cohere Health recently raised $50 million in funding, led by Deerfield Management, bringing its total funding to $106 million.