Healthcare AI startup Froncort.AI has raised $2.3 million (₹21.5 crore) from Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, to scale its AI-powered disease surveillance and detection platform. The support also includes $200,000 in Google Cloud credits and pro bono technical expertise from Google's AI specialists.
The company is one of 15 organisations selected globally for Google.org's Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation. Founded in 2024 by physician-scientist Dr Ujjwal Rao, it aims to improve early disease detection by helping frontline health workers monitor disease-prone areas.
The funding will go towards mAI-NETRA, a mobile version of the AI-NETRA public health platform. AI-NETRA uses AI, satellite imagery and government health data to identify areas at higher risk of infectious disease, and guides frontline workers towards targeted screenings. It combines health programme data with Google's Earth AI models and local indicators such as settlement density, land use, rainfall and flooding. The insights are turned into ranked work paths that map household clusters and set routes for field visits.
In a validation study with Maharashtra's state TB programme, Froncort.AI says teams using AI-NETRA identified a similar number of confirmed pulmonary TB cases while screening two-thirds fewer people than conventional methods. The company says the cost per confirmed case fell from about $29,000 to $10,000, and 92% of participating frontline workers reported a lower workload.
With the new capital, Froncort.AI plans to extend the platform to six infectious diseases: TB, leprosy, malaria, dengue, cholera and leptospirosis. It also intends to release mAI-NETRA as an open-source blueprint that governments can adopt and adapt for their own public health programmes. Separately, the startup runs RegDoc, a regulatory technology platform that prepares compliant submissions for clinical research organisations, pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers.
The raise comes as AI use in India's public healthcare gathers pace. The government said in February that it is integrating AI into public health delivery, citing a 27% decline in adverse TB outcomes and over 4,500 outbreak alerts from AI-enabled tools. Inc42's Indian Tech Startup Funding Report for Q3 2026 shows AI funding in India grew 235% year on year, with deals rising 35% to 35 from 26 in Q3 2025.
