Aegis Ventures is a next-generation startup studio that partners with entrepreneurs and industry leaders to originate, launch, and scale transformative companies, with a focus on artificial intelligence. The Aegis platform brings together market-shaping ideas, permanent growth capital, and ambitious individuals who are driven to solve major societal problems. Our companies use technology to transform healthcare by dramatically improving quality, access, and cost. Aegis creates new companies with substantial input from our Digital Consortium of a dozen leading health systems and other ecosystem partners. We have launched 6 innovative companies to date and are just getting started.
Optain is a revolutionary healthcare company that uses groundbreaking software and hardware technology to rethink care. We use the eye as a window to the body to improve the way we detect and manage eye and systemic conditions. Optain is committed to expanding and improving care through the introduction of AI and machine learning technology in frontline care settings at an accessible price. This not only promotes greater access to care, but promises to reduce the strains of overburdened healthcare systems.
Originally founded in Australia in 2019, Optain seeks to commercialize the inventions of Professor Mingguang He, a preeminent clinician-scientist and scholar in the field of ophthalmology. Optain has achieved regulatory approval and commercial adoption of its product suite in global markets, including Australia, Europe, and more.
In 2025, Optain received US FDA clearance for its Resolve retinal camera. Optain also recently closed a Series A funding round led by Insight Partners with participation from seven leading U.S. health system investors, including Memorial Hermann Health System, Northwell Health, Novant Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and UPMC. These systems collectively deliver care to 28 million patients across 25 states and have begun deploying Optain’s platform across their networks, rapidly accelerating the company’s footprint and expanding screening access nationwide.