Helium Health, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has secured a ₦3.4 billion ($2.5 million) grant from Google.org, tech large Google’s philanthropic arm, to deploy synthetic intelligence (AI) instruments that assist establish being pregnant dangers and enhance maternal healthcare supply in Nigeria.
The funding will help the rollout of HeliumMum, the corporate’s maternal well being initiative that goals to attain 1.9 million pregnant girls over three years. The programme will start in Lagos, the initiative’s operational base, earlier than increasing to Delta, Kano, and Oyo states.
Nigeria contributes nearly 10% of global maternal deaths, and Helium Health hopes its AI-powered intervention will assist deal with this burden by figuring out being pregnant problems earlier and connecting girls to applicable care, and contribute to a 30% discount in maternal mortality.
“For the past decade, Helium Health has been building the technology and partnerships needed to improve healthcare delivery across Africa,” Dimeji Sofowora, Helium Health’s chief government officer, stated in a press release. “Through our maternal health initiatives, we’ve already reached over 3.5 million women, and Google.org’s support gives us an opportunity to build on that foundation, scale what works, and reach even more women with quality maternal healthcare.”
The grant comes three months after Adegoke Olubusi, Helium Health’s co-founder and CEO, stepped down after almost a decade, handing management to Sofowora, one other co-founder who assumed the function in August. The management change adopted the departure of one other co-founder, Tito Ovia, in 2022, leaving Sofowora because the final founding group member actively concerned in main the enterprise.
Helium Health was the one Nigerian organisation chosen amongst 15 recipients of Google.org’s $30 million Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation, introduced in September 2026. The problem helps organisations working with governments to use AI to enhance public providers, together with healthcare.
The funding will finance the deployment of AI-powered scientific decision-support instruments inside major maternal healthcare providers. Through HeliumMum, the corporate needs to assist group well being staff establish potential being pregnant problems earlier and join expectant moms to applicable healthcare suppliers. The system will mix AI-driven threat detection with digital medical information and scientific decision-support instruments utilized by healthcare suppliers.
Helium Health says it has already reached greater than 3.5 million girls by way of its maternal well being initiatives. With the Google.org funding, it needs to attain one other 1.9 million. The firm may even obtain technical help from Google engineers and AI product specialists by way of a devoted Google.org Accelerator.
“AI holds incredible potential to transform public services, but there is often a gap between promise and practice,” stated Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org. “By equipping the 15 selected organisations with funding and pro bono support from Google’s 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.”
Founded in 2014 by Olubusi, Sofowora, and Ovia, Helium Health began by constructing digital medical information and hospital administration software program to assist healthcare suppliers digitise affected person information. Over time, the corporate expanded and started providing instruments for medical information, billing, apply administration, and healthcare financing. In June 2023, Helium Health raised $30 million in a Series B funding spherical led by AXA IM Alts, bringing its disclosed funding on the time to about $40 million.
The grant additionally comes as Nigerian healthtech firms face a tougher fundraising atmosphere. According to TechCabal Insights’ State of Healthtech in Nigeria 2026 report, funding into the sector peaked at almost $55 million in 2023 earlier than falling to roughly $18 million in 2024 and $3 million in 2025. The decline is due to the excessive prices of constructing healthcare infrastructure and sluggish adoption of digital instruments.
Google.org’s grant will assist Helium Health develop past digitising healthcare amenities into delivering AI-powered public well being providers. It might additionally deliver the corporate’s know-how nearer to major healthcare centres and group well being staff who could not have the scientific help wanted to establish high-risk pregnancies early and guarantee girls obtain well timed care.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure that no woman loses her life simply because she didn’t know she was at risk or couldn’t access the care she needed,” Dr Shona Oluwatola, Head of Public Health at Helium Health, added.
