Corporations developing medical artificial intelligence (AI) are entering the global market, leading to serious competition in performance. In the early days, medical AI corporations garnered significant attention in the market and secured funding primarily through technology and growth potential. Now, actual commercial performance has become a major measure for attracting investment and assessing corporate value. In the future, competition among medical AI corporations is expected to intensify not only in technology but also in sales and marketing.
Domestic and international medical AI corporations have developed medical devices that diagnose and predict diseases based on deep learning and have entered the market. Deep learning is a machine learning method that allows AI to learn large volumes of information and identify patterns independently. The industry anticipates that a corporation will achieve profitability for the first time this year, with VUNO being predicted to achieve profitability the fastest domestically.
Founded in 2014, VUNO received Korea's first AI-based medical device approval in 2018 and has continued to see quarterly performance growth since 2023. According to FnGuide on the 22nd, VUNO's revenue for the second quarter is expected to reach 9.4 billion won, with an operating profit of 400 million won. This is an improvement of 46.8% in revenue and 88.5% in operating profit compared to the same period last year. It marks the achievement of profitability in the first quarter when realized.
The company's flagship products include those that read chest X-ray images using AI and monitor the risk of cardiac arrest. There are also AI medical devices for brain quantification and fundus image diagnostic assistance called "VUNOmed FundusAI," as well as an AI device for diagnosing bone age.
Performance trends show that both domestic and export results are growing simultaneously, but the domestic proportion still remains significantly larger. The company explained, "We are effectively penetrating the market through direct sales via our sales organization and indirect sales through distributors."
VUNOmed DeepCaus, which predicts the occurrence of cardiac arrest within 24 hours by analyzing the vital signs of hospitalized patients in general wards, is currently used in about 120 medical institutions in Korea, covering 62,000 hospital beds, and aims to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the second half of this year.
Lunit, also considered a first-generation AI corporation in Korea, projected that it would achieve operating profit by the fourth quarter of next year. In the first quarter of this year, Lunit's consolidated revenue reached 19.23 billion won, setting a new quarterly record. This figure represents an increase of 273.6% compared to the same period last year. However, it recorded an operating loss of 20.6 billion won in the first quarter, reflecting a 61% increase in losses compared to the first quarter of last year due to increased investments and operational funds for business expansion.
Lunit is also showing revenue growth in the global market. According to the company, the number of medical institutions that have adopted Lunit's AI imaging diagnostic solutions surpassed 10,000 worldwide as of the end of last month. This figure includes 6,500 institutions that adopted Lunit's products and 3,500 institutions that adopted products from Volpara Health, which was integrated as a subsidiary last May. The company noted, "Over 90% of the medical institutions adopting our products are international clients, primarily from the U.S., followed by Asia and Oceania, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa."
On the 2nd, Lunit signed a partnership agreement with Microsoft (MS) to jointly develop diagnostic medical AI solutions. Lunit's CEO, Seo Beom-seok, stated, "Lunit has previously collaborated with global medical corporations such as GE Healthcare, Philips, and Fujifilm to advance hardware in the market. Now, we are partnering with global tech giants like MS to expand and reshape the market with a focus on software. The AI solutions being developed by Lunit and MS are planned to be distributed via MS's cloud platform, 'Azure,' leading to a significant increase in new product supply."
In the United States, the publicly traded corporation Tempus AI is aiming for profitability this year. The company's revenue for the first quarter of this year rose 75% compared to the previous year, reaching $255.57 million. The first-quarter operating loss was approximately $68 million, indicating a reduction in the loss margin. Tempus AI has projected fiscal year revenue of $1.25 billion and anticipates a potential transition to profitability in EBITDA.
The corporation is rapidly expanding its business product lineup. It initially began with AI-based genomic analysis and clinical data integration services, but it has successively launched AI-based diagnostic assistance platforms, atrial fibrillation prediction solutions, and patient-specific mobile apps. In November last year, it entered into an agreement to acquire genomic interpretation company Ambry Genetics Corporation for $600 million, followed by the acquisition of AI-based clinical trial patient matching platform developer Deep6 AI in March this year. The industry observes that Tempus AI is striving to achieve a leap as a total AI solutions provider.