Women founders build personalised healthcare AI in Luxembourg

After realising how difficult it can be for patients and doctors to connect scattered medical information, biologists Astou Ndiaye and Vânia Cecchini created Hale-X, a Luxembourg-based healthtech startup that uses AI to create digital twins of patients. Drawing on their own health journeys, they are developing personalised healthcare AI through these digital twins, a virtual replica of a patient’s evolving health data that supports clinical decisions, to give clinicians clearer insights and help patients feel understood.

How Hale-X uses AI and digital twins for real-world care

The idea behind Hale-X began when Ms Ndiaye faced repeated, conflicting assessments during a life-threatening health crisis. What stayed with her was the frustration of seeing how unconnected information made diagnosis harder. She started imagining a tool that could interpret results and highlight patterns that often go unnoticed.

This led her to reach out to Ms Cecchini, whose own experiences as a frequent patient had shown her how confusing blood tests and medical documents can be. “Every time someone in my family gets a blood test, they ask me what it means,” she said. Their shared perspective as biologists and patients shaped a platform designed to explain results clearly and follow health changes over time.

Together they developed a system that evolves from analysing individual tests to creating digital twins using electronic health record data. Doctors can see trends that previously stayed hidden over time, an advantage especially relevant in intensive care where Hale-X is running a pilot with the main hospital in Luxembourg-City Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL).

We moved from reacting to preventing, by giving doctors a complete picture.” Astou Ndiaye, Hale-X

Building in Luxembourg’s startup ecosystem

Luxembourg’s close-knit ecosystem helped the founders build trust quickly. Doctors became early collaborators, validating the scientific approach and shaping the platform for clinical use. This partnership with the medical community is now one of Hale-X’s strongest assets.

The team of six works with an emphasis on ethics, transparency and flexibility. “Human connection is super important,” Ms Cecchini said. With many parents on the team, they value a culture that supports ambition without sacrificing wellbeing. Everyone contributes because they believe in the mission and its long-term impact.

The platform is built from the patient’s point of view, because we are patients.” Vânia Cecchini, Hale-X

As women founders, Ms Ndiaye and Ms Cecchini noticed that credibility is not always given upfront. They often need to prove their expertise before the conversation shifts. Yet Luxembourg opened many doors, offering valuable introductions that helped others understand the potential of their work. 

From vision to market: regulation, B2B focus and scale

To navigate medical device regulations, Hale-X shifted early from a consumer solution to an approach working directly with hospitals and laboratories. Data stays on premises, ensuring privacy while offering personalised insights for each patient’s trajectory.

One of the most impactful opportunities came through an invitation to the World Health Expo in Dubai, the world’s largest healthcare and healthtech event. Hale-X joined the Luxembourg delegation with the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and Luxinnovation. The event gave the founders global visibility as they met clinicians, researchers and potential clients from leading centres worldwide. It confirmed the international relevance of their personalised healthcare AI and opened new discussions that the company aims to develop as it scales.

Hale-X is now preparing its next steps: a pre-seed round to raise funds, expanding the team and entering markets starting with the United States, then the United Kingdom, followed by Africa where the need for scalable digital tools is significant. Through all of it, they remain committed to ethics and clarity of purpose, encouraging other women founders to trust their vision and stay anchored in their values. As Ms Ndiaye put it, “You truly need to believe in yourself, your team and your idea in a way that nothing can shake you.”