Samsung Medical Center taps australian AI firm Heidi for trial. Melbourne-based Heidi, a healthcare AI company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Medical Center, its first South Korean partner. The agreement will see the hospital test Heidi's clinical documentation software in its electronic medical record system and adapt it for Korean hospitals. The proof of concept, announced on November 12, will run on the hospital's own infrastructure and assess technical performance, physician acceptance, and documentation quality. The partners also plan to develop Korean clinical documentation and interoperability specifications. If the trial succeeds, Samsung Medical Center will become a reference site for Heidi's future use in South Korea. The hospital ranked fourth globally in Newsweek's World's Best Smart Hospitals 2027. South Korea treats health data as sensitive personal information under the Personal Information Protection Act. National standardization efforts include Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), the health data exchange standard that will underpin the planned integration. Heidi also said it recently raised a US$100 million series C and secured a US$240 million growth investment. How would you feel if you could no longer use Tech in Asia? Share, tag us, and land on our Wall of!

Heidi AI health startup slashes staff, co-founders leave. Heidi, the Melbourne-based AI health startup, is reducing its global workforce by about 18%, a move announced just six weeks after raising $475 million in funding. The company also confirmed that two of its three co-founders, Waleed Mussa and Yu Liu, will leave their roles. CEO Dr. Thomas Kelly revealed the restructuring in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, admitting the company had misaligned its investment priorities despite strong growth. The decision follows an internal review that identified inefficiencies in team structure and market focus. Kelly told staff the changes were essential to support Heidi's expansion plans, which now involve managing three million patient interactions weekly. The restructuring includes merging customer support and research and development teams, along with reassigning responsibility for new product initiatives. The $475 million funding round, announced in September, included a $100 million Series C led by Blackbird, bringing Heidi's valuation to AU$1.26 billion. A separate $240 million investment from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund was designated for customer acquisition. These funds came after Heidi was named Startup of the Year and AI Innovator at the Startup Daily awards. Kelly apologized to employees affected by the cuts, noting that Heidi employs over 600 people globally. This means approximately 108 roles will be eliminated. Departing employees will receive severance packages exceeding local legal requirements, along with additional benefits support. Mussa and Liu, who co-founded Heidi with Kelly in 2019, will step down for personal and strategic reasons. Mussa will spend time with his family before transitioning out, while Liu will stay on as an advisor until March 2027, focusing on models and hardware. Kelly highlighted their contributions over nearly a decade, beginning when Mussa hired him in 2015 at a medical exam prep business. Heidi's restructuring aligns with broader workforce reductions in Australia's tech industry. Canva, another major Melbourne company, announced simultaneous layoffs affecting 22% of its workforce, or roughly 1,270 employees. These moves reflect startups' efforts to balance growth with operational efficiency as they scale. Leadership's rationale for workforce reductions. "You've put your talent, time and belief into Heidi, and as a leadership team, we take responsibility for the decisions that have brought us here."