Detecting congenital heart defects before birth remains one of the toughest challenges in prenatal care. Ultrasound screenings rely heavily on operator skill, and even experienced OB-GYNs can miss subtle cardiac abnormalities.
BrightHeart’s B-Right AI Platform aims to close that gap. Integrated directly into standard ultrasound systems, it assists clinicians in real-time, guiding them through complex fetal heart exams, improving image completeness, and increasing diagnostic confidence. The company says its technology enables more accurate, consistent screening without changing clinicians’ workflows.
Today, BrightHeart raised €11 million in Series A funding, co-led by Odyssée Venture and GO Capital, with participation from the Mussallem CHD Alliance, Lift Value, IDAHO HealthTech Club via Side Angels, and Sofinnova Partners, BrightHeart’s founding investor. A group of clinicians and medtech entrepreneurs, including Prof. Laurent Salomon, Sacha Loiseau, and John Gridley, also joined the round.
The new funding will help BrightHeart bring its platform to the US market, expand across Europe, and continue to refine its AI models. The company enters this next phase following five FDA clearances in 2025, new partnerships with major academic centres, and two peer‑reviewed studies.
Making AI a trusted clinical ally in prenatal care
Cécile Dupont, CEO and co‑founder of BrightHeart and a partner at Sofinnova Partners, started the company from an observation: the quality of an ultrasound exam often depends on the person operating the probe, not just the equipment or protocol.
“Our goal is to enhance diagnostic accuracy, improve outcomes for families and babies, and streamline clinical workflows for healthcare professionals,” Dupont says.
At the core of BrightHeart’s system is its real‑time AI guidance, which helps sonographers navigate complex fetal anatomy and consistently capture critical cardiac views. The software combines anatomical tracking, intelligent view recognition, and automated quality checks to ensure no key steps are missed.
Clinical trials have shown that BrightHeart’s platform can detect congenital heart defects with over 96% accuracy, a figure rarely achieved in routine prenatal screening. Beyond accuracy, it’s designed for plug‑and‑play integration, so hospitals can adopt it without changing their existing ultrasound machines or workflows.
In a competitive landscape that includes GE HealthCare, Caption Health, and Sonio, BrightHeart stands out for its deep scientific validation and focus on complex organ imaging.
What’s next?
Following this latest funding, BrightHeart plans to ramp up its commercial operations in the United States and broaden its presence in Europe. The team is also expanding its research pipeline to cover additional fetal organs and early‑stage anomaly detection.
Orin Herskowitz, President of the Mussallem CHD Alliance, says,“By embedding advanced AI directly into ultrasound workflows, BrightHeart is paving the way for expert-level fetal heart screening to become part of routine prenatal care. Expanding access to innovations like this has the power to dramatically improve the diagnostic landscape for CHD patients and their families, addressing a critical, urgent need.”
