Sopris Capital, a Miami-based multi-strategy investment firm, completed its acquisition of Blackford Analysis from Bayer, buying out the Edinburgh radiology AI firm that Bayer had acquired in 2023 before pivoting away from its AI platform business last year. Terms were not disclosed.
Blackford runs an orchestration platform that lets radiology departments evaluate, deploy and manage AI imaging applications at scale: the platform carries more than 130 AI applications from over 45 partner vendors and is used by original equipment manufacturers and hospitals across several world markets. Sopris said it will fold Blackford into Azra AI, one of its top-performing portfolio companies, a step expected to complete in the coming weeks. Azra AI’s platform identifies and manages patients with cancer and other complex illnesses across the care pathway, so the combination positions Blackford at the very beginning of that journey, the moment an image is captured and analyzed. Blackford will remain a separate legal entity with operations in Scotland and the United States.
The deal fits the pattern of mid-market PE building around healthcare technology infrastructure rather than betting on single products. With Bayer exiting and a specialist investor building a roll-up around imaging workflow, ownership of the imaging AI stack is concentrating in private hands. Watch whether Sopris announces further add-ons to the Azra/Blackford platform.