Heidi, an Australian AI scribe platform for clinicians, has formally launched in South Africa after more than 15,000 doctors adopted the tool through clinician-led referral, the company said.
1.5 million consultations a month
The Melbourne-built platform supports approximately 1.5 million consultations a month in South Africa, with weekly active use growing 500 per cent year on year, according to figures shared by the company alongside the launch. Adoption began organically through individual doctors before extending into organisational rollouts.
Intercare Group is piloting the platform across its network and Fourways Veterinary Hospital has deployed it within its clinical teams. Heidi has integrated with practice management systems including Practice Perfect and HealthFocus, allowing it to be added to existing workflows without changing how teams already record consultations.
Targeting administrative load
South Africa is projected to face a shortfall of nearly 97,000 health workers by 2030, with administrative burden identified as a key contributor to clinician burnout, particularly across public hospitals, emergency departments, and rural clinics. Heidi sits inside the clinical workflow, automating documentation and routine administrative tasks. The company says the platform meets local healthcare governance and regulatory requirements, supports multiple languages, and works offline in low-connectivity environments.
Local leadership and partnerships
Heidi has appointed Dr Calvin Howard to lead its South African operations, with Dr Michelle Yuan driving customer success. Both are medical doctors. Howard will oversee partnerships as adoption expands beyond individual clinicians into healthcare organisations, while Yuan will focus on team-level adoption and integration.
“Adoption in South Africa has been almost entirely clinician-led,” said Dr Tom Kelly, chief executive and co-founder of Heidi. “Doctors are using it in real clinical settings, seeing the impact and recommending it to peers. That is what has driven us to more than 1.5 million consultations each month locally, with weekly active use growing 500 per cent year on year.”
“Our role now is to support that momentum with local infrastructure and partnerships,” Kelly added. “Globally, Heidi is already supporting more than 2.5 million consultations each week, and our mission is to double the world’s healthcare capacity. Markets like South Africa, where the workforce gap is most acute, are where that mission matters most.”
Calvin Howard said the platform fits naturally into local clinical workflows. “With support for local languages and offline capability, clinicians can capture every patient interaction, even in rural settings without connectivity. Heidi has taken the time to understand how care is actually delivered here and built accordingly.”
Company background
Heidi was founded in Melbourne, Australia. Globally, the platform supports more than 2.5 million consultations each week across 110 languages and 190 countries. The company has raised approximately $96.6 million from investors including Point72 Private Investments, Blackbird, Headline, Phoenix Court’s Latitude growth fund, Possible Ventures, and Archangel. Heidi adheres to international standards including HIPAA and GDPR, holds South Africa’s POPIA compliance, and carries enterprise-grade security certifications such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
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