Inside Flok Health’s $12.5M Series A: The AI Physiotherapist That Just Halved Back Pain Waiting Lists

Patients can receive same-day assessments and automated triage, followed by a personalised exercise-based treatment plan delivered by an AI physiotherapist . The platform is designed to manage the complete care pathway — from initial diagnosis to discharge — without requiring a human clinician to oversee the process . If a patient’s condition requires it, the system escalates care to a human practitioner .

This level of autonomy is what separates Flok from the many digital triage tools on the market.

The Regulatory Milestone: Why Class IIa Matters

In a crowded field of health tech, Flok’s regulatory standing is its strongest moat. Its core technology, the “Flok Health Clinical Engine (CELBP2),” is certified as a Class IIa medical device by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) . This classification means the AI is legally authorised to perform diagnostic decisions, making it the first AI system in the UK — and reportedly in Europe — to be approved for fully autonomous physiotherapy .

The company is also registered as a healthcare provider with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of all health and social care services in England . These certifications were achieved in 2023, laying the foundation for its initial NHS pilots .

Founding Team: From Rowing and Medicine to AI Care

Flok Health was founded by a duo with a direct line into both the patient and clinician experience. CEO Finn Stevenson is a former professional rower who studied medicine and holds a Master’s degree in Musculoskeletal Science . Before founding Flok, he worked in growth at CMR Surgical . CTO Ric da Silva is a technologist who, together with Stevenson, assembled a team with deep expertise across clinical medicine, engineering, and machine learning .

Their combined backgrounds gave them firsthand insight into the supply-and-demand crisis Flok was designed to solve. “The most fundamental problem in healthcare today is supply-demand mismatch,” Stevenson has said .

NHS Availability and Real-World Impact

Flok Health is not a theoretical solution. It is already treating patients across 11 NHS regions in England, covering a population of more than 2.4 million people . The service areas include Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Airedale, multiple boroughs in South Yorkshire (Doncaster, Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield), Northamptonshire, and three London boroughs .

The results from its first major 12-week pilot with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS services, which treated over 2,500 patients, are striking :

• A 55% reduction in the local back pain waiting list
• A 44% reduction in overall MSK waiting times, when combined with other community initiatives
• 98% of patients were managed entirely within the digital platform, with only 2% requiring a transfer to face-to-face care
• About 80% of patients rated their experience as equivalent to or better than traditional in-person physiotherapy

These outcomes have earned the service recognition, including shortlisting for three national HSJ awards .

How the £9.5 Million Will Be Spent

The oversubscribed $12.5 million (£9.5 million) raise will fuel Flok Health’s transition from a category-defining back pain solution to a multi-condition platform . The specific expansion plans include:

• New clinical pathways: The company is building AI-operated treatment programs for additional MSK conditions, starting with shoulder, knee, and hip .
• UK geographic expansion: Flok aims to scale its services to more NHS regions across the country .
• International market entry: The company is actively exploring regulatory pathways to launch in Europe and the United States, using its UK Class IIa certification as a foundation for global expansion .

In a healthcare environment where the median NHS wait time for treatment remains stubbornly above pre-COVID levels, Flok Health’s ability to provide same-day, clinically regulated care at scale makes this Series A a significant event to watch — not just in health tech, but in the broader application of autonomous AI .