Investment firm Sopris Capital closed on its purchase of Scottish radiology AI firm Blackford Analysis from Bayer. Terms were not disclosed.
Sopris will fold Blackford into Azra AI, one of its portfolio companies, and expects to finish that step in the coming weeks, according to the firm. Azra AI and Blackford entered a strategic partnership earlier this year. Azra AI’s platform is built to identify and manage patients with cancer and other complex illnesses across the care pathway, while Blackford’s platform provides access to more than 130 AI applications from more than 45 vendors.
"As we continue to build out a healthcare technology portfolio focused on connected, longitudinal patient care, Blackford gives us a critical foothold at the very beginning of that journey, the moment an image is captured and analyzed," said Abinav Sankar, managing partner at Sopris, in a statement. "Combining with Azra AI, we are positioning our portfolio to support patients from first scan through survivorship."
Blackford was founded as a spin-out from Edinburgh University in 2010. Bayer acquired the firm in 2023, and then pivoted away from its AI platform business last year.
Blackford will remain a separate legal entity, with operations in Scotland and the U.S., and will keep serving its existing equipment manufacturer partners and health system customers, Sopris noted.
