Skin Analytics

Skin Analytics is a British healthtech company that develops DERM (Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy), an AI as a Medical Device (AIaMD) for the assessment and triage of suspected skin cancer. DERM analyses clinical images of skin lesions and returns a decision to discharge the patient or refer them to the dermatology team, and is used to detect malignant, pre-malignant and benign lesions including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, atypical naevus, Bowen's disease, actinic keratosis, dermatofibroma, melanocytic naevi and seborrhoeic keratosis. The device is described by the company as UKCA Class IIa marked and, following EU MDR approval, Class III CE marked, which it states permits autonomous operation — discharging patients without dermatologist review.

The device sits within a custom-built teledermatology platform used to route patients within urgent suspected skin cancer (USC) pathways. The company positions the product against dermatologist capacity constraints in the NHS, citing tripling skin cancer referrals over a decade, a quarter of consultant dermatologist posts unfilled and over 400,000 patients on waiting lists. Alongside NHS urgent cancer pathways, the technology is offered through primary care and community services, private medical insurers and, more recently, international partners in Europe and the Nordics.

Corporate certifications and registrations listed by the company include ISO 27001, ISO 13485, the NHS DSP Toolkit, Cyber Essentials, DCB 0129, DTAC and CQC registration.

Founding story

Skin Analytics was founded in 2012 by Neil Daly, who had grown up in Australia and had seen the importance of early skin cancer detection. Before founding the company he was a Director at the GSMA, where he worked on the creation of the mobile banking industry, and previously a strategy and technology consultant serving clients including Vodafone, British Telecom and Virgin Media. He holds an Executive MBA in Entrepreneurship from London Business School and a BSc in Physics and Mathematical Sciences from The University of Western Australia.

Business model

The company supplies its regulated AI device and accompanying teledermatology platform to health systems and healthcare providers, principally NHS trusts, integrated care boards and GP federations, as well as to private medical insurers and international healthcare provider partners who deploy it within their own skin cancer and dermatology services.

Traction

Since 2020 the company reports having seen over 270,000 patients and detected approximately 24,000 cancers, with 25 NHS partners using DERM. At the time of the April 2025 Series B it reported deployment at 26 NHS sites, more than 150,000 patients seen and over 14,000 cancers detected. Bupa's home-based service with Skin Analytics has supported 19,000 patients over five years. The company states DERM can autonomously discharge 20-40% of urgent suspected cancer pathway patients, helps 55-65% of primary care patients avoid urgent referral, and has reduced unnecessary face-to-face dermatology appointments by up to 95% at some NHS trusts.

Latest developments

In April 2025 the company raised £15 million in Series B funding led by Intrepid Growth Partners, following EU MDR Class III CE mark approval. In May 2025 NICE recommended DERM for early NHS use while further evidence is gathered, and the company won AI Company of the Year at the British Data Awards. Subsequent partnerships include Together First CIC in Barking & Dagenham, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Affidea, Freedom Health and Human Bytes, plus a first Jersey GP practice in December 2025. In June 2026 the company launched DERM Zero, Class III regulated AI performing autonomous skin cancer assessment from a standard smartphone, at HLTH Europe.