“A Scan Saved a Life—And Sparked a Startup That Could Save Millions”
When Dr.Geetha Manjunath witnessed the tragic loss of a young woman to late-stage breast cancer—despite having no symptoms or family history—something changed. What felt like a personal heartbreak turned into professional purpose. At the time, she was a tech leader at Xerox Research, but that moment became the spark for NIRAMAI: Non-Invasive Risk Assessment with Machine Intelligence.
Founded in2016, Niramai set out to address a massive gap in healthcare—accessible,affordable, and radiation-free early detection of breast cancer, especially for women under 45, where mammograms often fail. The result was Thermalytix—a first-of-its-kind AI-powered thermal imaging platform.It’s non-contact, pain-free, and detects tumours up to 5x smaller than manual exams. Simple, safe, and scalable—it’s now in over 20 countries and deployed across India, from major hospitals to remote wellnesscamps.
“Every Innovation Faces Resistance”
Despite a breakthrough innovation, the road ahead wasn’t smooth. Niramai’score technology was developed inside Xerox. To take it forward independently, Geetha needed to secure the IP rights—a bold move for any early-stagefounder. Within three months, backed by pi Ventures, Ankur Capital, AxilorVentures, and 500 Startups, they closed their seed round and took fullcontrol of their platform.
Then came the real test: proving clinical credibility in a cautious, regulation-heavy industry. Partnering with top hospitals across India, Niramai conducted extensive trials and published peer-reviewed research—earning trust from sceptical radiologists and accelerating adoption. But building AI for healthcare isn't just about accuracy—it’s about resilience. Real-world thermal data is often noisy or incomplete. The team continually refined Thermalytix to maintain high sensitivity and specificity even in imperfect environments.
The biggest hurdle they faced was Global regulatory approval. But they cleared everybar: DCGI (India), CE (Europe), and FDA 510(k) (USA) in March2022—unlocking not just new markets, but immense credibility with clinicians and investors. Behind this success was a community of believers. Investors provided not justcapital, but confidence. Google Launchpad helped them scale with purpose, Philips HealthWorks delivered deep healthcare insight, and AxilorVentures enabled critical hospital partnerships. This wasn’t justsupport—it was infrastructure.
Niramai now operates globally showing its presence in 20+ countries and 19 Indiancities. Deployed in leading hospitals like Apollo, HCG, and NarayanaHealth, and extended through NGO-led wellness drives, the solutionis democratizing early detection.
Their achievements speak volumes:
- 26+ patents and recognition from Amazon AI, BIRAC, CB Insights
- Validated effectiveness for women of all ages, especially under 45
- Cost-effective: 1/3 the price of a mammogram
- No radiation. No pain. No contact.
Tilldate Niramai Has Proven itself to be the life saver on several occasions and they are just not yet finished. Niramai is expanding its platform beyond breast cancer, improving AI accuracy and explainability, and forming new partnerships with NGOs, corporates, and governments to scale access even further—especially in underserved areas. As Dr.Geetha Manjunath puts it: “This win further validates the intrinsic power of the NIRAMAI team and has given us the confidence that we can build many more such world-class medical devices of high quality and help reduce untimely deaths due to cancer.”
Inspired by Niramai’s journey?
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