Anterior, formerly known as Co:Helm, is a clinician-led artificial intelligence company headquartered in New York City that builds an automation platform for health plans. The company focuses on prior authorization and clinical administrative review, widely regarded as one of the most burdensome and disliked workflows in US healthcare.
Anterior's platform acts as a co-pilot for utilization-management clinicians, helping them review medical necessity, apply clinical criteria and reach decisions faster and more consistently. The company says its technology supports organizations that collectively cover roughly 50 million lives, emphasizing clinician oversight rather than fully automated denial systems.
The company was founded in 2022 by Abdel Mahmoud, who serves as Founder and CEO. Its approach reflects growing scrutiny of AI use in payer prior authorization, positioning Anterior as a clinician-trusted tool rather than an opaque automated adjudication engine.
Anterior secured a $20 million Series A in June 2024 led by NEA at a roughly $95 million post-money valuation, with participation from Sequoia Capital. In February 2026 the company closed an oversubscribed $40 million round, again with NEA and Sequoia participating alongside new investors FPV and Kinnevik, bringing total capital raised to $64 million.
The company is targeting the large and politically sensitive market of payer administrative automation, where regulators at the federal and state level are increasingly examining how AI is applied to coverage decisions. Anterior's positioning around clinician oversight is central to its go-to-market with health plans.