Voize raises USD $50 million to ease nurse admin burden with AI
voize has secured USD $50 million in Series A funding to support its expansion in Europe and entry into the United States. The investment round is led by Balderton Capital with participation from HV Capital, Redalpine, and Y Combinator. The company's AI companion currently supports more than 75,000 nurses in over 1,100 care facilities, aiming to reduce administrative burdens in healthcare.
Workforce challenges
Healthcare systems across Europe and the US are experiencing a significant shortfall in nursing staff. The World Health Organisation projects a global deficit of 4.5 million nurses by 2030. In Europe, the gap stands at approximately 1.2 million healthcare workers, while estimates in the US predict an annual shortfall of up to 450,000 nurses.
Nurses spend nearly 30% of their working hours on administrative tasks, according to voize. This lost time equates to more than 5.5 billion hours a year and results in labor costs reaching USD $246 billion across the US and Europe. High administrative load has contributed to burnout and high turnover, impacting the level of care patients receive.
Distinct AI approach
voize's technology is designed specifically for the nursing profession. Unlike AI scribes developed for physicians, voize focuses on the workflows typical in nursing. Nurses can dictate notes and complete documentation tasks in real time through the AI companion, which integrates directly with electronic health records systems.
The AI models are built internally by voize, with an emphasis on understanding complex medical terminology, diverse dialects, and accommodating non-native language speakers. Its design allows the companion to run locally on smartphones, meaning it does not require a constant internet connection and can operate reliably even if wireless networks are unavailable. This local processing also supports heightened data protection regulations within healthcare environments.
Adoption and results
Care facilities in Germany and Austria have adopted voize in significant numbers. More than 75,000 nurses now use the AI companion, reporting potential time savings of up to 30% per shift. Some care homes have listed use of the technology in job advertisements to attract nursing staff, underlining its perceived value in the workplace.
Since its founding in 2020 by Fabio Schmidberger, Marcel Schmidberger, and Erik Ziegler, voize claims a threefold annual growth rate. The company was initially motivated by experiences with family elders in nursing care, with the founders observing firsthand the impact of administrative workloads on frontline staff.
Funding plans
The funding round is intended to accelerate voize's presence in new geographies and further enhance its AI companion's features. The investment marks a significant commitment from both new and existing backers, reflecting the scale of the challenge facing nursing teams worldwide.
"Nurses enter the profession to care for people, and leave it because of all the admin work. For too long, they've had little technology designed to truly support them. At voize, we're building AI that redefines what it means to care, where technology works in the background, and people come first. Seeing this come to life already across care homes and hospitals and hearing how nurses rediscover the joy in their jobs has been incredible. With the backing of Balderton and our brilliant investors, we're ready to bring this technology to nurses across the world," said Fabio Schmidberger, Co-Founder and CEO, voize.
