Paige, a company applying AI to digital pathology, has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to develop new clinical applications and computational biomarkers, as well as a strategic investment from the tech giant.

Paige will use Microsoft Azure as its cloud provider for the Paige Platform, a comprehensive solution to power a lab’s digital pathology workflow that consists of data management, cloud storage options and FullFocus, an FDA-cleared whole-slide image viewer. As part of this collaboration, Paige will become a Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare partner and enable Microsoft to enhance its own offerings for healthcare customers. Together, the companies will aim to scale Paige’s technology globally and accelerate the adoption of AI in digital pathology.

Clinical AI applications have the potential to help pathologists diagnose cancer more confidently and efficiently, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. Paige is currently the only company to have received FDA approval for an AI algorithm in pathology.

Paige will work with other entities, including Microsoft Research, on developing large-scale machine learning models to push the boundaries of research in oncology and pathology. Paige is also working with Nuance, a Microsoft company, on integrating their offering with Nuance’s Precision Imaging Network.

“We are thrilled to partner with Microsoft to make AI cancer diagnostics accessible to countless laboratories and hospitals around the world as part of the digital transformation of pathology,” said Andy Moye, chief executive officer at Paige. “We believe that Microsoft’s world-class AI resources, cloud infrastructure, global reach and scale, combined with our deep expertise in developing AI cancer diagnostics, will drive a new era of diagnostics and precision treatment to improve the lives of patients.”