What You Should Know:
– Techmed startup illumicell AI, founded by a team of Harvard-trained physician Michel Bielecki, former McKinsey consultant Jeyla Sadikova, and rocket engineer Loup Cordey, has secured $2M in pre-seed funding. The funding round was supported by a combination of healthcare operators, clinicians, and early-stage funds, including life science investors KOFA Healthcare, Harvard Phoenix Venture Fund, and MedTechSyndicates
– The company aims to transform fluid-based diagnostics with its portable “lab scanner” and real-time AI platform, capable of analyzing cells and biomarkers within minutes.
– The initial product focuses on a portable sperm analysis scanner designed to redefine male fertility care and establish a broader infrastructure for cellular health data.
Addressing a Critical Need in Male Fertility
The company highlights that while 1 in 6 couples globally experience infertility, less than 25% of men receive a proper fertility evaluation. In the U.S., a large number of sperm tests are referred by doctors and specialists, but only a limited number of clinics can process them, leading to delays for patients.
illumicell AI’s technology, which includes a proprietary, portable imaging system and AI-driven algorithms, aims to resolve these bottlenecks by providing results 50 times faster and at 20 times lower cost, directly in any doctor’s office.
Dr. Michel Bielecki, co-founder and CEO of illumicell AI, emphasizes the potential to improve healthcare quality by enabling real-time, lab-grade fluid diagnostics in any doctor’s office, reducing wait times and costs for patients. He also notes that each test contributes to a feedback loop, aiding clinicians and training AI models.
Expanding Beyond Fertility
illumicell AI’s technology generates structured, labeled cell data with each scan. The company is building a real-time dataset in male reproductive health, currently comprising over 400,000 data points.
This data has the potential to provide personalized fertility insights, including:
- Lifestyle-linked fertility changes over time
- Fertility response to interventions
- Early detection of fertility decline
While initially focused on fertility, illumicell AI’s platform has the potential to be applied to other bodily fluids, enabling real-time cellular intelligence across various healthcare fields.
Early Progress and Future Plans
illumicell AI reports that its prototype has shown strong correlation to gold-standard lab results in clinical trials, outperforming legacy systems. The company has secured Letters of Intent (LOIs) with fertility clinics in the USA, Japan, and Switzerland, and plans to submit for FDA approval in 2026. illumicell AI has also received recognition from innovation programs such as Harvard Innovation Labs, Creative Destruction Lab, MassChallenge Boston, Techstars, and Keihanna KGAP+ in Japan, and was acknowledged by the American Urological Association.
“Fertility remains rooted in traditional approaches – still placing the burden of fertility almost entirely on women. It’s a bias that’s culturally driven and scientifically flawed,” added Jeyla Sadikova, co-founder at illumicell AI. “While 1 in 6 couples face infertility, the diagnostic and treatment focus is overwhelmingly centered on women – even though male factors are involved in up to half of all cases. illumicell AI is changing that. We’re making fast, accurate, scalable male fertility diagnostics accessible anywhere, so diagnosis starts where it should: with both partners, equally.”
