South Korean medical artificial intelligence (AI) companies are accelerating entry into the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, as they seek to broaden their business horizons.

Lunit, a medical AI company, announced Thursday its participation in Saudi Arabia’s Healthcare Sandbox project.

This initiative, driven by the Saudi Ministry of Health, aims to innovate medical services through digital transformation, aligning with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy.

Lunit CEO Seo Beom-seok expressed the company’s commitment to building a robust collaboration with Saudi health authorities and SEHA Virtual Hospital (SVH). The partnership will see Lunit’s AI solutions expanded and tested over a three-month period.

In May, Lunit was selected for the AI Voucher Global Project organized by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). It has installed and operated Lunit Insight CXR, a chest X-ray AI image analysis solution, and Lunit Insight MMG, a mammography AI image analysis solution, at SVH in Saudi Arabia.

Another Korean medical AI company, Coreline Soft, has taken steps to expand its presence in the Middle East. On Thursday, the company announced a supply agreement with Meridian Healthcare LLC (MHC), a healthcare services firm based in Dubai, UAE.

Coreline Soft will provide MHC with nine AVIEW products, including the AI chest simultaneous diagnosis solution, AVIEW LCS PLUS.

MHC, with its substantial presence in the Middle East healthcare market, is set to exclusively distribute Coreline Soft’s products in seven countries ? Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt.

The agreement is expected to significantly strengthen Coreline Soft’s footprint in the Middle East. The term of the agreement runs through October 2026, with automatic renewals thereafter.

According to Coreline Soft, the nine products include AVIEW LCS Plus, a simultaneous diagnostic solution for the chest, AVIEW COPD, an automatic analysis solution for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and AVIEW CAC, an automatic diagnostic solution for coronary artery calcification.

Bertis, a proteomics-based precision medical technology startup, Osteonic, an orthopedic implant company, and iIooda, a medical device company, are also working on laying the groundwork for their entry into the Middle East in Saudi Arabia.

By Kim Si-gyun and Minu Kim

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