A London-based AI start-up founded by a former Palantir healthcare lead has raised £9.7m to tackle administrative pressure across the NHS.
The funding round in Frontier Health was led by European venture capital firm Atomico, with participation from XYZ Venture Capital and Firstminute Capital.
Frontier Health has now raised £11.9m in total and is using AI to carry out administrative tasks that it says are placing pressure on NHS patient care.
The start-up, founded in 2024, cited projections that healthcare systems could face a shortfall of 10m workers by 2030.
It said reducing the administrative burden behind patient care could help address the shortfall.
Frontier Health was founded by Rachel Finegold, who worked as Palantir’s healthcare lead across 40 NHS hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finegold said years spent working alongside NHS teams showed her how administrative bottlenecks could affect patient outcomes.
“There physically weren’t enough administrators to support this integral machinery that needs to happen to keep patients moving through the system and to get patients their care,” Finegold, the company’s chief executive, told The Times.
Frontier Health has developed an AI agent called Juno, which works with NHS administrative staff.
An AI agent is software that can carry out tasks and make decisions within defined limits.
The company said Juno can help teams navigate systems, complete routine tasks such as booking appointments, identify risks and keep patients moving safely through care.
The technology will call on a member of staff during a case when it encounters something it does not understand.
Frontier Health lists East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust as one of its clients.
The start-up plans to use the funding to increase its presence across NHS trusts and expand its 12-person team.
More than 50 per cent of NHS trusts in England use Palantir software to reduce waiting lists.
However, the British Medical Association has called for the NHS to stop using Palantir, citing the use of its technology by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“As healthcare systems face growing demand and limited resources, we believe supportive AI can become critical infrastructure, augmenting frontline teams and improving care delivery,” Atomico said.
