Global digital health company Qure.ai has received an $8 million grant from the Gates Foundation to advance AI-powered diagnostics for preventable infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia. The funding aims to strengthen health equity by improving access to early, high-quality diagnostics in under-resourced regions.
The grant will enable Qure.ai to build a large, open-source, multi-modal global health database to support future innovation in disease prevention and early detection. The database will align with World Health Organization (WHO) lung health diagnostic pathways and integrate non-identifiable clinical histories, chest X-rays, thoracic ultrasound images, high-resolution CT scans, cough and lung sound recordings, and laboratory or biological markers. This resource is intended to support researchers and innovators worldwide in developing, validating, and refining next-generation AI models for lung health.
A key focus of the initiative is the development of AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound algorithms designed to aid early detection of TB and pneumonia. These conditions remain among the deadliest infectious diseases globally, particularly in low-resource settings. TB causes an estimated 1.23 million deaths annually, while pneumonia accounts for around 2 million deaths each year, including approximately 700,000 children under the age of five. Both diseases are highly treatable when diagnosed early.
The project builds on Qure.ai’s decade-long experience deploying AI-powered diagnostic tools in challenging environments, including remote regions of sub-Saharan Africa, rural Southeast Asia, and high-altitude settings. Its AI-enabled chest X-ray solutions have demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce diagnostic turnaround times for TB from weeks to just one to two days, even in settings without on-site clinicians.
The new funding will allow Qure.ai to extend this expertise to ultrasound-based diagnostics, broadening access to frontline screening tools that can be used by health workers in primary care and community settings. The initiative also places a strong emphasis on paediatric health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where pneumonia remains a leading cause of preventable child mortality.
Qure.ai currently operates across more than 105 countries and over 4,800 healthcare sites worldwide, supporting the detection and management of TB, lung cancer, and neurocritical conditions such as stroke. The latest grant reinforces the company’s role in advancing AI-driven, scalable diagnostic solutions for global public health challenges.
