Innovation support has helped health and life sciences company Augmented Healthcare map a clear route to regulatory registration and first commercial deployment.
Innovation grant funding covering 100% of project cost
New jobs created
New-to-market product
Increase in three-year turnover forecast
A practising GP with a background in computer engineering, Dr Jonti Hudson founded Augmented Healthcare to develop real-time AI that supports clinical decision-making during live consultations.
Less than 12 months later, he is targeting a 1,000% increase in turnover within three years and preparing to launch a market-first clinical software tool. Read on to see how GM Business Growth Hub’s Innovation Service has supported the journey – because, as Dr Hudson says, “Healthcare innovation doesn’t happen in isolation”.
Innovation grant funding for healthtech
The Bury company was developing a new feature on its Consultation Dashboard (CoDa) platform, enabling it to passively listen to conversations between clinicians and patients, identify clinical ‘red flags’ – symptoms or signs of potentially serious underlying illness – and raise them in real time for the clinician’s consideration.
Its challenge was moving from a promising prototype to a robust, internally validated AI engine ready for real-world testing and credible in the eyes of regulators, clinicians and investors. Thanks to our Innovation Service, Dr Hudson secured a £19,100 grant to fund a five-month product development project. This enabled the team to work with an external specialist to complete data generation, model tuning, technical and clinical evaluation, and a system audit.
“This kind of rigorous evaluation, regulatory alignment and scalable infrastructure planning can be easy to overlook at an early stage,” says Dr Yousef Taktak, Innovation Specialist for Health and Life Sciences at GM Business Growth Hub. “These are very important foundations, but ones that can be difficult to resource for a healthtech start-up.”
“Financial support is only part of it”
“The funding has helped us build our core technology infrastructure whilst keeping patient safety at the centre of everything we do,” says Dr Hudson. “But the financial support is only part of it. The real value has been the mentorship, the connections, and the strategic guidance. GM Business Growth Hub understands Greater Manchester's innovation ecosystem deeply, including academic institutions, NHS trusts, regulatory pathways, and so much more. They helped us see opportunities we would have missed on our own.
“Medical school teaches you a lot of things, but business strategy is not one of them. Dr Yousef Taktak changed that. With his PhD, MBA, and years of experience helping healthcare companies navigate everything from NHS market access to investor pitches, he helped me develop skills I didn't know I was missing: how to articulate a value proposition; how to think about market timing; how to translate clinical intuition into something that makes sense to people who've never worked a ten-minute consultation.”
Representing Greater Manchester internationally
Alongside product development, our Innovation Service also connected Augmented Healthcare to Greater Manchester’s growing international innovation activity. Dr Hudson says: “One of the most valuable aspects of working with the Hub has been access to Greater Manchester's growing international presence. In the past year, we've been fortunate to participate in two significant initiatives, the first of which was the Greater Manchester–Germany Innovation Summit.”
In September 2025, Greater Manchester and the Ruhr region came together at the Royal Exchange Theatre to look at how collaboration could shape the future of hydrogen, digital health and cyber security: “I was given something that terrified me: a five-minute pitch slot,” he adds. “No slides, just me explaining clinical consultation understanding infrastructure to a room full of German and British innovators and academics, followed by Q&A.
“I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. The concept genuinely resonated. German healthcare faces many of the same pressures we see in the NHS: workforce constraints, quality assurance challenges, the need for AI that augments rather than replaces clinical judgement.”
Then, in November 2025, Augmented Healthcare was selected as one of 11 Greater Manchester life sciences companies to join a mayoral trade mission to Ireland, led by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram: “Sitting alongside companies that were far further along in their development, established diagnostics firms and proven healthtech innovators, reminded me how early we still are in our journey. But it also showed us where this path can lead.
“Meeting Andy Burnham was a highlight. His genuine interest in supporting innovation across Greater Manchester businesses is evident. It's no coincidence this is the fastest-growing economy in the UK. The roundtable discussions were fantastic, and it was great to catch up with Cllr Bev Craig to explore how we might support fellow clinical innovators across Greater Manchester and the North West. That's a conversation we're keen to continue.”
Connected innovation
The two events have underlined the importance of building innovation in partnership, Dr Hudson says: “These experiences have reinforced something we believed from the start: healthcare innovation works best when it's connected. Connected to clinical practice, to academic research, to regulatory expertise, and to international perspectives.
“We're building consultation understanding infrastructure for UK healthcare first. But the conversations at both events suggest the need – and the opportunity – extends far beyond these borders. We're grateful for what the Hub has helped us achieve so far. And we're excited about what comes next.
“If you're a Greater Manchester healthcare or life sciences company looking for support, I'd genuinely encourage you to reach out to GM Business Growth Hub. They understand this sector, and they understand this region. More importantly, they'll push you to grow in ways you didn't expect.”
Contact our team today on 0161 359 3050 or at bgh@growthco.uk to find out how we can help your business, whichever sector you’re in.
A version of this article first appeared on the Augmented Healthcare website, published on 30 January 2026.
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