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Procode AI emerged from stealth on March 2 with $4M in seed funding led by Story Ventures. The company acquired The Auctus Group (leading U.S. plastic surgery biller, $2M ARR added in 5 months) and launched a "Coding Copilot" targeting surgical RCM — claiming 90% faster coding. Co-founded by Jeff Cripe and Kameron Rezzadeh M.D. Dmitry Shevelenko (Perplexity CBO) co-invested.
Initial denial rates reached 11.8% industry average in 2024 (latest confirmed data), up from 11.5% in 2023. Medicare Advantage denials surged 56% YoY. Commercial plan denials up 20% YoY. 44% of hospitals now rank denials as their #1 financial issue. 82% of CFOs report significant increases vs. pre-pandemic. 22% of organizations lose $500K+/year to denials; 10% lose $2M+/year.
In MGMA's January 2026 poll, 36% of provider responses cited automation and process optimization as their top cost-cutting strategy. Combined with outsourcing (14%), 50%+ of providers are actively seeking technology or external help for billing operations. 63% of practices report ongoing RCM staffing gaps. 41% of claims/billing roles are >50% vacant.