Yuimedi Secures JPY 400m to Streamline Medical Data Infrastructure with AI
Yuimedi, a health-tech startup specializing in the standardization and utilization of medical data, has raised 400 million yen (approx. $2.6 million) in a fresh funding round. The capital injection is aimed at accelerating the deployment of its AI-driven data infrastructure and expanding its footprint in both the Japanese and U.S. markets.
The round was led by DG Daiwa Ventures, with significant new participation from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, HearstLab, and SMBC Venture Capital. Existing investors Chiba Dojo, Incubate Fund, and D4V also participated, signaling continued confidence from early backers.
Structuring the Unstructured
Yuimedi, led by CEO Emiri Grimes, addresses a critical bottleneck in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors: the fragmentation and lack of standardization in clinical data. The company plans to deploy the proceeds across three primary verticals:
- YuiData (Japan): A service utilizing real-world data (RWD) from partner medical institutions to support pharmaceutical R&D and marketing.
- YuiQuery (Japan/US): A SaaS product leveraging generative AI to extract and structure information from hospital electronic medical record (EMR) databases.
- Data Standardization: converting RWD into the OMOP CDM (Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model) global standard to facilitate cross-border data utility.
Strategic Expansion and Hiring
According to the company, the funds will be heavily allocated toward human capital. Yuimedi is actively recruiting for executive leadership positions, including a COO candidate for its Japan operations, as well as business development personnel for YuiData and engineering talent for YuiQuery.
Investor Sentiment
The syndicate of investors points to a strategic focus on global scalability. DG Daiwa Ventures, investing for the third time, highlighted Yuimedi’s ability to "create use cases for data utilization contributing to pharmaceutical sales and marketing."
Notably, the inclusion of HearstLab—the investment arm of U.S. media giant Hearst—underscores Yuimedi’s transatlantic ambitions. HearstLab Japan Country Manager Ryoko Tsuchikawa noted that Yuimedi’s solutions are becoming "indispensable infrastructure," citing the company's established U.S. entity and readiness to tackle the massive American healthcare market.
"Medical data, if utilized properly, has the power to protect lives," said CEO Emiri Grimes. "However, barriers of fragmentation and structural issues remain in the field. With this funding, we will push forward to build the medical data infrastructure needed to overcome these walls."
Norbert Gehrke
