Vizzhy Inc Invests $12.5 Million In University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to Advance Metabolic Disease Research

As per a recent survey, 88% of adults are metabolically unfit, and the average adult has gained 15 kilograms since the 1970s. The surge in metabolic diseases has pushed annual healthcare spending in the United States beyond $4 trillion, exceeding India's GDP.

Bengaluru-based startup Vizzhy Inc has invested $12.5 million in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to address the underlying issues in metabolic diseases. With this investment, the startup is set to explore new avenues in such disease management.

Notably, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Vizzhy Inc was recently signed. At the signing event, B Nagendra, Minister for Youth Empowerment, Sports, and Tribal Welfare, stressed the importance of research in tackling societal challenges.

He emphasised the Karnataka government's focus on research and development with the establishment of the Karnataka Research Foundation. He welcomed investments from companies such as Vizzhy Inc in the R&D sector with full government support.

The Sreenivasulu AI for Wellness Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will bring together a team of scientists, engineers, and health system experts committed to addressing metabolic diseases, a critical global issue.

The centre will be led by Professor Narendra Ahuja, a top global scientist in Computer Vision and the founder of India's first IIIT in Hyderabad.

Dr Vishnuvardhan, founder and CEO of Vizzhy, highlighted the startup's mission, driven by alarming statistics from the 2019 NHANES survey. This survey revealed that 88% of adults are metabolically unfit, and the average adult has gained 15 kilograms since the 1970s. The surge in metabolic diseases has pushed annual healthcare spending in the United States beyond $4 trillion, exceeding India's GDP.

Vizzhy Inc has already initiated numerous collaborative projects with renowned Indian institutions, such as IIT Bombay, and is actively expanding its university partnerships.

Such collaboration between academia and industry underscores the significance of interdisciplinary partnerships in addressing some of the most pressing health challenges of our time.

In a similar development, just days back, Instashield, a Hyderabad-based medical device technology startup, inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, for expansion into the US Market.

The primary goals of this trade mission include fostering partnerships with technology businesses focused on growth, promoting research and development opportunities, facilitating sales and market expansion activities in the United States, and exploring collaborations in various sectors such as biotech, healthcare, cyber, AI, and cleantech.