A San Francisco startup is using artificial intelligence to improve diagnostics for cats, dogs and exotic pets.
Moichor (pronounced MOY-core) was founded in 2019 by CEO Shevy Karbasi, COO Matt Chen and CTO Thanh Le. The three met while attending Penn State University. Karbasi and Chen were studying biology as undergraduates, and Le was pursuing a Ph.D. in machine learning.
They began conceptualizing what would become Moichor while they were still in school, but they actually started with human diagnostics.
"We were trying to do it from your smartphone, and we even got this (Institutional Review Board)-approved study at Hershey Medical Center and we failed pretty badly in the human space," Karbasi told me. "We realized that it would take lots and lots of money because of the regulation."
So they pivoted to pets.
Moichor processes complete blood count, or CBC, tests from veterinarians and is using AI to speed up testing and make them more accurate. One area the team is trying to improve is specificity within a test's results.
For example, blood work from a chihuahua and a golden retriever might look the same at first glance but what's normal for one breed might be different for another.
Eventually, Karbasi wants Moichor to be a diagnostic platform that has an element of predictive analytics.
“Many animal studies only have less than 100 dogs or cats,” Karbasi said, and "our hope and our dream is to say, ‘Hey doctor or veterinarian, we've seen this case 1,000 other times across this many hospitals and this was the best treatment. You should consider X, Y and Z.’ ”
There are other companies are using machine learning in a similar way, but for humans.
S.F.-based Unlearn is creating so-called digital twins to improve clinical trial outcomes, and San Carlos-based Q Bio Inc. is applying similar technology to increase the accuracy of body scans like MRIs. Others like Brightseed in South San Francisco are applying AI techniques to drug discovery.
Moichor built its initial database by working with veterinarians to collect samples. They started with exotic pets and launched a service for cats and dogs in September. Canines and felines now make up 50% of its business.
Occasionally, they'll also work with wildlife organizations in the U.S. Moichor has collected samples from giraffes and sea turtles, for example. The company partners with a few zoos, and has even gotten requests from other countries, but their focus in primarily on domesticated pets in the U.S., Karbasi told me.
The company has a laboratory in San Francisco and will be opening a second location in the city soon. By early 2024, it will open a third laboratory in Louisville, Kentucky.
It bills veterinarians per tests processed every month and currently serves 49 states.
Moichor also recently raised $6.2 million in new funding, which was an extension of its previous seed round and brings its total funding to $11.2 million. The company has been growing its revenue 10x on a monthly basis and the fresh capital will help them works toward achieving profitability, Karbasi told me.
Karbasi is aiming to grow Moichor's team to 47 people by the end of the year, up from around 30 at the moment. The company will be particularly focused on hiring across engineering, lab automation, operations and sales. They'll also be hiring veterinarians to serve as in-house consultants and quality control experts in the labs.
