I.W.G Inc., developer of AI infrastructure for healthcare data interoperability, raises $1.8M in pre-Series A

June 2, 2026, Tokyo — I.W.G Inc., an AI-powered infrastructure developer addressing healthcare data interoperability challenges across Asia, announced today that it has raised $1.8 million (approximately ¥280 million) in a pre-Series A round led by Golden Gate Ventures, with participation from existing investor Antler.

The round marks the first Japanese investment by Golden Gate Ventures’ fourth fund (Golden Gate Ventures Fund IV). Dr. Toshihiko Sato, a physician and entrepreneur who operates multiple medical corporations in Japan and is an early customer of the platform, also participated in the round.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate development of I.W.G’s AI Referral Agent and healthcare data interoperability infrastructure, and to expand deployment in Japan and other Asian markets.

Tackling the biggest infrastructure challenge in healthcare: data fragmentation

Currently, healthcare institutions across Asia face a major challenge: fragmentation of legacy systems that are difficult to communicate or integrate with each other. This delays referral letter exchanges, slows responses for overseas consultations and health checkups, and consumes enormous time for patient admission coordination. While medical records exist, differences in formats, systems, and languages across institutions are the biggest barriers.

The global healthcare interoperability solutions market is projected to grow from $3.9 billion in 2024 to $14.7 billion by 2034, with Asia-Pacific (APAC) expected to be the fastest-growing region. However, varying levels of digital maturity among healthcare institutions make data integration an urgent issue, further complicating AI adoption in clinical settings.

How I.W.G works: an interoperability layer that does not replace systems

I.W.G’s platform enables seamless healthcare data connectivity among hospitals, clinics, insurers, and healthcare partners without requiring complex hardware installation or costly custom development. It supports diverse data formats including PDF, XML, HL7, and DICOM.

Rather than relying solely on direct system integration, I.W.G’s AI Referral Agent understands the clinical context of incoming documents and automatically maps them to the format required by the receiving institution. This allows both parties to continue using their existing systems while achieving interoperability across format differences, system mismatches, and language barriers.

I.W.G is also developing a feature that automatically cross-references information in referral letters with relevant clinical guidelines and institution-specific protocols, significantly reducing the time physicians spend manually consulting guidelines and the risk of decisions based on outdated information.

The company currently partners with regional hospitals, clinics, tele-radiology centers, medical tourism companies, and health checkup centers across Japan, China, Singapore, and Indonesia. Demand is also growing from premium insurance companies and credit card programs supporting overseas health checkups, where language barriers and incompatible systems cause critical delays.

Comments from stakeholders

Jussi Salovaara, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Asia at Antler: "Many healthcare AI startups focus on developing applications built on top of existing systems. But I.W.G is tackling a more fundamental problem: connecting fragmented healthcare systems themselves. In the Asian market, where compatibility, language, and workflow differences create significant friction, this infrastructure layer is extremely important. We are delighted that the team’s efforts, already yielding results across Asia beyond Japan, have been highly recognized by a global investor like Golden Gate Ventures."

Xiaoyan (Fiona) Zhou, Co-founder and CEO of I.W.G Inc.: "Healthcare institutions still spend enormous time converting data formats between fragmented systems. Our goal is to make medical information flow as easily and securely as information flows over the Internet. We will build an interoperability layer that allows healthcare institutions and partners to collaborate frictionlessly, regardless of their existing systems or locations."

Justin Hall, Partner at Golden Gate Ventures: "Our strong attraction to I.W.G is simple: Fiona and Bruce have already paved this path. They have successfully scaled healthcare AI businesses in some of Asia’s most regulated markets. A team with such hands-on operational experience and deep insights is extremely rare. Moreover, the high retention rates shown by early customers prove that their technology is solving real problems in the highly challenging field of healthcare IT."

Dr. Toshihiko Sato, President of NIDC Medical Corporation: "Healthcare is an information industry requiring evaluation of diverse formats of patient vital signs, test results, and surgical findings organized chronologically. Comprehensive judgment is essential, and IWG’s DOCloud and AI Referral are optimal cloud-based platforms. Even against increasing cyberattacks targeting healthcare institutions, we perform massive data backups; using this summary as backup can reduce enormous archiving costs, benefiting medical institution management. Sharing medical data across professions is essential in clinical settings, and it also helps nurses, clinical laboratory technicians, and radiology technologists organize pre-examination information, which is indispensable for appropriate tests and care.

We expect the spread of IWG’s platform to develop into a global healthcare network infrastructure."

Founding team with deep expertise in Asian healthcare AI

I.W.G was founded by Fiona (Xiaoyan) Zhou (CEO) and Bruce (Xiaoxi) Guo, who have built a track record in healthcare AI since 2016.

Before founding I.W.G, Zhou led overseas operations for a China-based medical imaging AI startup using deep learning for diagnosis.