Helium Health, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has secured a \u20a63.4 billion ($2.5 million) grant from Google.org, tech giant Google\u2019s philanthropic arm, to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help identify pregnancy risks and improve maternal healthcare delivery in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
The funding will support the rollout of HeliumMum, the company\u2019s maternal health initiative that aims to reach 1.9 million pregnant women over three years. The programme will begin in Lagos, the initiative\u2019s operational base, before expanding to Delta, Kano, and Oyo states.<\/p>\n
Nigeria contributes nearly 10% of global maternal deaths<\/a>, and Helium Health hopes its AI-powered intervention will help address this burden by identifying pregnancy complications earlier and connecting women to appropriate care, and contribute to a 30% reduction in maternal mortality.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the past decade, Helium Health has been building the technology and partnerships needed to improve healthcare delivery across Africa,\u201d Dimeji Sofowora, Helium Health\u2019s chief executive officer, said in a statement. \u201cThrough our maternal health initiatives, we\u2019ve already reached over 3.5 million women, and Google.org\u2019s support gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation, scale what works, and reach even more women with quality maternal healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n The grant comes three months after Adegoke Olubusi, Helium Health\u2019s co-founder and CEO, stepped down <\/a>after nearly a decade, handing leadership to Sofowora, another co-founder who assumed the role in August. The leadership change followed the departure of another co-founder, Tito Ovia, in 2022, leaving Sofowora as the last founding team member actively involved in leading the business.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helium Health was the only Nigerian organisation selected among 15 recipients of Google.org\u2019s $30 million Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation<\/a>, announced in September 2026. The challenge supports organisations working with governments to use AI to improve public services, including healthcare.<\/p>\n The funding will finance the deployment of AI-powered clinical decision-support tools within primary maternal healthcare services. Through HeliumMum, the company wants to help community health workers identify potential pregnancy complications earlier and connect expectant mothers to appropriate healthcare providers. The system will combine AI-driven risk detection with electronic medical records and clinical decision-support tools used by healthcare providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Helium Health says it has already reached more than 3.5 million women through its maternal health initiatives. With the Google.org funding, it wants to reach another 1.9 million. The company will also receive technical support from Google engineers and AI product experts through a dedicated Google.org Accelerator.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAI holds incredible potential to transform public services, but there is often a gap between promise and practice,\u201d said Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org. \u201cBy equipping the 15 selected organisations with funding and pro bono support from Google\u2019s own AI experts, we are empowering the people closest to the problem to show what is truly possible. Together, we can ensure that AI makes a profound, positive difference in the everyday lives of communities worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n Founded in 2014 by Olubusi, Sofowora, and Ovia, Helium Health started by building electronic medical records and hospital management software to help healthcare providers digitise patient records. Over time, the company expanded and began offering tools for medical records, billing, practice management, and healthcare financing. In June 2023, Helium Health raised $30 million in a Series B<\/a> funding round led by AXA IM Alts, bringing its disclosed funding at the time to about $40 million.<\/p>\n