Harrison.ai cuts Australian staff, shifts focus to US teleradiology venture after $32m grant
The AI health startup Harrison.ai is laying off Australian employees and rolling out a US teleradiology service, even though it received a $32 million federal grant to stay in Australia.
Harrison.ai, a health-AI firm founded in 2018 by Aengus and Dimitry Tran, was awarded $32 million from the National Reconstruction Fund to remain based in Australia. Despite that commitment, the company has begun cutting Australian jobs and is establishing Frontier Radiology, a Delaware-registered teleradiology service that hires US doctors to apply its AI software. Internally, the firm is restructuring so each employee becomes a "player-coach" overseeing a fleet of AI agents.
Backers such as I-MED, Sonic Healthcare and Blackbird have helped lift the company's valuation near $400 million. The shift has sparked concerns from academics like Michelle Lazarus and Wendy Rogers about potential conflicts of interest and automation bias when clinicians are financially tied to the AI they must use. Harrison.ai says the move is part of a commercial-scale phase and hints at preparing for an ASX listing.
Why it matters
The story shows how public funds can be used while a company pivots abroad, raising questions about job security and AI ethics in healthcare.
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