Cera Raises £123m for AI-Powered Home Healthcare

UK health tech firm Cera has acquired £123 million of funding to help integrate AI into home healthcare.

The company currently works with approximately 10,000 nurses and carers, who deliver in-person support to patients via over 60,000 health visits per day.

Using the Cera app, staff and family members can record key information (e.g. new symptoms or recent falls) to monitor health and escalate concerns.

Through the introduction of AI, this data can be rapidly collected and analysed for trends in observations and wellbeing, so that anyone at risk of serious deterioration is identified. Responsive or preventative care can then be administered efficiently.

For example, the app will be able to flag patients showing early signs of a potential urinary tract infection before it escalates to severe illness.

Alongside data analysis, Cera’s software digitises and automates administrative tasks usually carried out by staff, allowing carers to maximise time spent with their patients.

A 2022 study published in Sage Journals, found that use of this technology led to a 52-70% reduction in hospital admissions for patients over the age of 75.

Cera claims that their technology allows them to respond to declining patients “30-fold faster than traditional methods”, and that their algorithm can predict falls before they happen with an accuracy of 83%.

Cera was founded in 2016 by Dr Ben Maruthappu after working as a physician in A&E and Public Health medicine as well as having to organise care for an unwell family member.

In an interview with City AM, Ben stated “I saw the difficulties in the sector first-hand, not as a doctor or someone in policy, but as a person going through the process of organising care for a loved one”.

The £123m raised will help Cera advance their existing AI, support ongoing research and train staff involved with the new technology.

Based on analysis verified by Faculty, Dr Maruthappu stated that Cera is “already saving the NHS and government £1 million a day”, with NHS savings projected to increase to an estimated £3m per day in 2026, roughly equating to £1 billion per year.