Apella
Series BRaised Since FeaturedAI eyes in the OR
Ambient AI and computer vision platform that optimizes hospital operating rooms by automatically capturing surgical workflow data.
About
Apella brings ambient AI and computer vision to the operating room, automatically capturing and analyzing surgical workflow data to help hospitals run more efficiently. The platform uses sensors and machine learning to identify up to 14 distinct surgical case events — from patient-in to wheels-out — and autonomously writes structured data back to the EHR, eliminating manual documentation. Co-founded in 2019 by David Schummers (CEO), Cameron Marlow (CTO, ex-Facebook data science lead, MIT Media Lab PhD), and Jordan Tuttle (CCO), Apella has deployed across 200+ operating rooms at major health systems including Houston Methodist, Tampa General Hospital, and the Medical University of South Carolina. On average, hospitals using the platform report a 5% increase in surgical volume. In 2025, Apella launched Horizon, extending its capabilities to case duration prediction and utilization forecasting, and expanded beyond the OR into interventional radiology, cardiology, and endoscopy. The company was named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list in 2025.
DailyDropout Take
Apella caught our attention as one of the few startups applying computer vision to the operating room — not for surgical robotics, but for the unsexy-but-critical problem of OR utilization and documentation. With a CTO who led data science at Facebook and a platform already deployed across 200+ ORs, they were quietly building the data infrastructure layer that hospitals didn't know they needed. Their $80M Series B and Fast Company recognition validated the thesis.
Discovery signal: Unusual application of computer vision (OR operations vs. surgery itself), strong technical founding team (Facebook data science lead + MIT Media Lab PhD), early hospital deployments
What Makes Them Unique
Apella is the only platform that uses ambient computer vision to automatically capture and structure 14+ surgical case events in real-time, writing novel data directly to the EHR without any manual input — turning passive OR cameras into an active operational intelligence layer.
500,000+
Surgical Cases Supported
200+
ORs Deployed
5% avg
Surgical Volume Increase
$115M
Total Raised
Target Markets
Founders
David Schummers
Co-Founder & CEO
Founded Apella in 2019 to bring modern engineering and AI to hospital operating rooms.
Cameron Marlow
Co-Founder & CTO
Former data science lead at Facebook and CTO at Physera (acquired by Omada Health). PhD from MIT Media Lab.
Jordan Tuttle
Co-Founder & CCO
Healthcare technology entrepreneur leading go-to-market strategy, sales, and partnerships at Apella.
Apella is hiring!
Team size: 50-100
Funding History
Lead: Undisclosed
Lead: Casdin Capital
Lead: HighlandX
Investors
Firms
Press & News
Apella Raises $80 Million in Series B to Transform the Hospital with Ambient AI and Computer Vision
Exclusive: Surgery AI Startup Apella Raises $21M In Series A
Apella Lands $80M Series B to Optimize Hospital ORs
Apella Closes $80M in Series B to Transform the Hospital with Ambient AI and Computer Vision