Czech healthtech startup Kardi AI, which has built an AI-powered chest strap that detects heart arrhythmias, has closed a €1.1M round to support international expansion and the advancement of clinical validation.
The investment round included contributions from existing backers BrightCap Ventures, DEPO Ventures, and Garage Angels, with new support from Lumus Investment Collective and a Czech angel investor.
With this new capital, the company is prioritizing expansion into regional and global markets. Its first targets include Central and Eastern European countries — Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania — followed by expansion into the United Arab Emirates and India, where demand for affordable cardiovascular diagnostic tools is high and digital health uptake is accelerating.
Founded with the aim of making heart health monitoring both more accurate and accessible, Kardi has already helped detect over 250 serious cases of arrhythmia - life-threatening conditions that can lead to stroke, heart failure, or early-onset dementia. Its device, combining ECG measurement through a wearable chest strap with AI-driven analysis, is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional 24-hour Holter monitors, which often miss irregularities due to limited observation windows.
“Traditional single 24-hour period monitoring often isn’t enough. Arrhythmias appear randomly and if you don’t catch them at the right time, it’s like they never existed. With Kardi Ai, users can measure every day, dramatically increasing the chances of early detection,” explains Prof. Tomáš Skála, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Kardi Ai.
“Kardi Ai has an exceptional, proven product that’s already helping save lives. Now it’s time to take this technology beyond the Czech Republic. We want to become the European leader in continuous heart monitoring. We believe this unique combination of data, clinical validity, and simplicity can change the way we prevent cardiovascular disease,” says Hrabal.
“This expansion comes at a key moment. The markets we’re targeting face similar challenges to the Czech Republic – high rates of cardiovascular disease, overloaded healthcare systems, and growing interest in digital health. We believe Kardi Ai can make the biggest difference right there,” adds Hrabal.
Globally, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death, with arrhythmias often going undetected until a major health event occurs. The World Health Organization estimates that over 17 million people die each year from CVD-related causes. With healthcare systems under pressure and populations aging, demand for continuous, user-friendly monitoring tools is on the rise.
Kardi Ai is currently preparing for a clinical trial in partnership with university hospitals in Olomouc and Ostrava, building on existing collaborations with more than 20 hospitals and approximately 130 cardiologists.
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