The healthtech company DIO Inteligência raised R$ 4 million in a seed round for its artificial intelligence (AI) thesis in dental diagnostics, attracting Triaxis Capital , Crescera Capital , and Renato Velloso, co-founder of Odontoprev and former CEO of dr.Consulta.
The investment firms led the funding round with resources from Criatec IV , a R$300 million fund co-managed by the two firms and backed by BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank). Velloso , who sits on the company's board advisory board , also made an investment, as did Guilherme de Leon, founder of Grupo Contraste, a dental radiology company and DIO's first angel investor.
A dentist by training, Velloso tells NeoFeed that what attracted him to DIO's thesis is the capability of the developed technology, which brings much more precision to diagnoses, helping dentists to carry out treatment properly and enabling the patient to understand their situation and plan the treatment.
“Only 60% of Brazil’s population has access to dentistry, and most treatments are not converted,” says Velloso. “The software demonstrates to the dentist everything that needs to be done, quickly and easily. It brings standardization and helps the dentist, didactically, to convince and convert the patient to treatment.”
Founded by Brazilian Caio Mathias and Estonian Ra Ringvee in 2020, DIO developed software that uses AI to analyze X-ray images to deliver diagnoses ranging from cavities to oral cancer. The platform can deliver results between ten and fifteen seconds after upload and boasts approximately 90% accuracy in most cases.
In addition to comprehensive mapping, with findings visually demarcated, the software provides treatment recommendations and a standardized report, aiding dentists in decision-making. "We say it's like aWaze for dentistry," says Mathias, COO of DIO.
He says he met Ringvee, who was in the country on a student exchange program at the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuarial Science at USP (FEA-USP), in 2018, after they were introduced by mutual friends.
With a law degree, Mathias worked with his father, who created a postgraduate school for dentists. In this experience, he encountered the issue of inconsistent diagnoses. He and Ringvee saw the possibility of using AI to tackle the problem.
With the technology validated and the resources in hand, the company is now moving to further expand its user base, which currently includes 1,500 clinics, representing a significant six-fold growth in two years of operation. It also intends to expand its revenue – currently, DIO has a monthly revenue of R$ 340,000 and the projection is to reach approximately R$ 1.4 million in 18 months.
“This funding round has strengthened our market position, with investments in marketing and sales,” says Ringvee, who holds the CEO position. “We are projecting to reach 3,000 clinics across Brazil by the end of the year and 9,000 by next year. This funding round has given us more fuel to run.”
In addition to expanding its presence in clinics, DIO also wants to bring its technology to health insurance providers as a tool for auditing claims, considering that 10% to 20% of cases involve irregular charges or clinical inconsistencies.
The intention is that the technology will also serve to create predictive models for health insurance companies regarding patients' situations. "From the moment the insurance company has the data in hand, it can anticipate and guide patients and dentists on what is best for each case," says Velloso.
According to Tito Ferraz, partner at Triaxis, the technology developed by DIO paves the way for the company's internationalization in the near future. "We see very few players in the world doing something with this level of technological rigor. So, I see global potential for this company," he says.
