**Emi Gal at LDV Capital’s Annual General Meeting in 2023. © Robert Wright**

After Emi Gal’s previous startup, Brainient – an advertising technology company – was acquired by one of its largest U.S. clients, he turned his focus to a much more personal mission. In 2018, he founded Ezra, a company dedicated to making cancer screening more affordable, accurate and non-invasive.

Emi’s mother had been diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer that had spread to her liver. Her diagnosis came too late, and Emi knew that something had to change. Over the next two years, Emi immersed himself in the world of medical science. Though he was new to the field, he dove into cutting-edge research and met with top scientists and medical professionals to explore innovative approaches to cancer screening. The complexity of the task and the regulatory hurdles did not deter him. Instead, he was driven to build a world-class team capable of turning his vision into reality. He knew that cancer’s greatest vulnerability was early detection, and his vision was clear: Ezra’s advanced scanning technology could help save lives.

Early investors in Ezra were Accomplice, Founders Future, Seedcamp, Credo Ventures, LDV Capital, Esther Dyson, Taavet Hinrikus, Pulitzer-prize winning oncologist Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Alex Ljung, Daniel Dines and several other notable investors. The company officially launched in early 2019, initially focusing on prostate cancer detection – cancer that kills 1 in 41 men.

“Out of the first 20 scanned, three had early-stage prostate lesions they were unaware of. Two early users came in with elevated PSA levels, but the MRIs showed no lesions, obviating the need to do prostate biopsies,” said Emi when we spoke with him in March 2019. “We helped one man who thought he was dying from cancer find out that he had no cancer but that he was likely an undiagnosed diabetic. We gave him the information for his urologist and physician to make that diagnosis. We checked with him a month later and he’s over the moon happy. We helped him get peace of mind that he doesn’t have cancer, as well as diagnose a disease he wasn’t aware he had.”

In May, Emi presented at our 6th Annual LDV Vision Summit, showcasing how computer vision was transforming MRI-based cancer screening. In 2020, the team obtained the first-ever prostate AI-powered screening cleared by the FDA.

Emi Gal at our LDV Vision Summit in 2019 © Robert Wright

**Check out his keynote, showcasing** **how computer vision was transforming MRI-based cancer screening**.

That same year, the company raised an $18M Series A led by FirstMark Capital, with participation from new investors Jeff Raider and Dave Gilboa (co-founders of Harry’s and Warby Parker), Vlad Tenev (co-founder of Robinhood), Fred Destin (co-founder of Stride VC), and Andrei Dunca (co-founder & CTO of LiveRail). We, along with other existing investors, also participated.

Ezra is the first company to leverage AI across all three stages of cancer screening: imaging, analysis and reporting. In October 2024, Ezra partnered with Bryan Johnson – Founder and CEO of Blueprint, and former Founder and CEO of Braintree Venmo (acquired by PayPal) – to launch the world’s most advanced longevity scan.

To date, the company has raised $44 million. Its scans are now available at 74 locations across 29 U.S. cities. Approximately 6% of customers who have undergone its elective scans have had cancer detected. Moreover, the company can now detect over 500 additional conditions in up to 13 organs that might be overlooked in other screenings.

(L-R) James George, Co-Founder & CEO at Scatter, is speaking with Emi Gal, Co-Founder and CEO at Ezra, and Sabina Gal, Director of Special Projects at Eight Sleep, at LDV Capital’s Happy Hour event in July 2023.
© Robert Wright

Jason Goodman, CCO at Ezra, at our LDV Capital Happy Hour in September 2023. An early angel investor, he previously backed Emi Gal at Brainient and later joined Ezra as CCO. Jason also co-founded and led Eastnine, Albion, and Tribal DDB. © Robert Wright

The company recently announced a new 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its advanced Ezra Flash AI model, along with the opening of its first international location in London, UK. One of our LDV Experts, Dr. Daniel K. Sodickson – a leading biomedical imaging researcher, Chief of Innovation, and Director of the Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research in the Department of Radiology at NYU and the author of “The Future of Seeing: How Imaging Is Changing Our World” – worked closely with Ezra’s team in developing Ezra Flash.

"A single health snapshot is like one frame from a movie – you miss the story," says Dr. Sodickson. "Finally, reducing the cost and scan time of full body MRI unlocks the ability to capture an annual imaging baseline. This longitudinal dataset reveals subtle changes over time that catch immediate issues and can predict disease before symptoms even appear. This fundamentally transforms medicine."

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Ezra is joining Function Health – the first personalized health platform offering access to over 160 advanced lab tests and one of the fastest-growing startups in the healthcare space. Ezra perfectly aligns with Function’s mission to empower 8 billion people to live 100 healthy years. With full-body MRI scans with an FDA-cleared AI that cuts scan time from 60 minutes to 22 minutes combined with comprehensive blood tests, millions of people will gain a 360-degree view inside their bodies – empowering them to make better lifestyle choices, prevent illness and extend their lifespans. For half the scan time and a third of the price, full-body MRI scanning every year is now practical and affordable. With Ezra, Function sets a new standard of care, creating a dataset that will allow AI to become truly predictive – potentially identifying health issues before they arise.

Jonathan Swerdlin, Co-founder & CEO at Function, at an LDV Community Dinner, 2015.

"Adding imaging was part of our vision from day one," says Jonathan Swerdlin, co-founder and CEO of Function Health who has been part of our LDV Community since about 2015. "Our brilliant team first focused on making comprehensive lab testing affordable and widely available. Now with Ezra becoming a part of Function, we complete the picture. It's time everyone owns their health, every year. This is the best use of AI – applying it directly to human life."

Emi Gal at LDV Capital’s Annual General Meeting in 2024.
© Robert Wright

Emi Gal at our LDV Capital Happy Hour Event in September 2022.
© Robert Wright

"I started Ezra with a clear mission: to detect cancer early for everyone in the world," says Emi Gal, Founder of Ezra. "This mission is deeply personal for me – if my mother had detected cancer early, she would still be alive today. Over the past six years my team and I have helped countless people find cancer, many of whom are now cancer free. We are now scaling this to millions together with Function."

“I've known Evan since 2012 and I've always been in awe of the incredible network he's created around him at LDV. Through that network, within weeks of becoming an Ezra investor, Evan Nisselson helped us hire a salesperson, find a PR agency, and generate hundreds of leads. Combine that network with Evan's passion for helping founders and his focus on computer vision, and I think you have something incredibly special,” Emi continues.

Our LDV Capital thesis continues to be the same since 2012 - partnering and investing in brilliant people building businesses leveraging visual technologies and AI. The majority of data our brains analyze is visual so the majority of data that AI will analyze will be visual across the light and electromagnetic spectrum. Visual data and visual technologies are critical for the success of artificial intelligence horizontally across all sectors.

Check out the latest additions to our portfolio in the healthcare space: VitVio – an AI-driven computer vision platform enhancing the safety and efficiency of hospital operating theaters; DANNCE.AI – an innovative phenotyping platform that digitizes clinical assessments used by clinicians and drug developers to quantify movement; and Sonus Microsystems – a proprietary ultrasound technology that uses polymer MEMS sensors to send and receive ultrasonic waves.

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