The Basque artificial intelligence company for dermatology triumphed in the regional phase in Bilbao and will travel to San Francisco on November 6, 2026, to compete for the one million dollar prize.
Legit.Health, the Basque startup specialised in artificial intelligence applied to dermatology, has qualified for the global final of the Startup World Cup after winning the regional phase held in Bilbao during B Acceleration Week. The company will compete in San Francisco on November 6, 2026, where selected startups from each region will vie for a one million dollar investment prize.
Beyond the competition, the significance of Legit.Health lies in its technology: a clinical decision support system based on artificial intelligence and computer vision, designed to assist healthcare professionals in the assessment and monitoring of skin diseases. The tool does not replace medical diagnosis but organises visual information, suggests distributions of possible pathologies, and provides objective criteria for triage.
In a field like dermatology, where waiting lists, referrals, and image quality significantly impact the care process, this type of automation can have relevant operational effects. The company works from images of skin lesions, identifying patterns compatible with different pathologies, indicating suspicion of malignancy, and estimating severity levels using automated clinical scales such as ASCORAD for atopic dermatitis and AUAS for urticaria activity.
Legit.Health covers over 320 dermatological pathologies and is designed to support detection, evaluation, and monitoring tasks. In practice, this brings it closer to three common uses in digital health: teledermatology, remote follow-up, and prioritisation of referrals to specialists. Dermatology has been incorporating non-face-to-face care processes for years, but the quality of images, variability among evaluators, and lack of uniform criteria remain barriers that this technology aims to reduce.
The technology is already being used in public healthcare settings, such as the Health Service of the Principality of Asturias (SESPA), as well as by insurers and private hospital networks. Part of the clinical evidence has been developed with the participation of professionals from Basque hospitals such as Cruces University Hospital and Basurto University Hospital. The company also collaborates with entities like IMQ and IGDerma.
Medical artificial intelligence faces strict regulatory conditions. Legit.Health has CE marking as a medical device and ISO 13485 certification, a standard linked to quality management systems for medical devices. These elements establish a framework for document control, risk management, and process monitoring that is essential when software is integrated into healthcare decisions.
The Basque regional phase took place at the BAT B Accelerator Tower in Bilbao, driven by BAT and PwC. After winning this call, Legit.Health secured a place in the international final organised by Pegasus Tech Ventures, based in Silicon Valley. The competition will bring together startups from different regional ecosystems, competing for a one million dollar investment prize.
For healthcare professionals and health system managers, the news confirms that artificial intelligence in dermatology is advancing towards real implementation, with clinical evidence and regulatory validation. Participation in the Startup World Cup may accelerate its international visibility and attract investment to scale the technology. The final will be on November 6, 2026, in San Francisco.
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