Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has long been a silent killer and the global healthcare system is hemorrhaging value in dealing with it. Far too many patients reach dialysis or transplant status without intervention as CKD affects more than 850 million people worldwide, and the cost burden is staggering. That’s the massive opportunity DeLorean AI is targeting by using precision predictive analytics to spot renal decline years before dialysis becomes inevitable.
The Breakdown You Need To Know:
Renal disease is both massive and under-served. In the U.S. alone, more than 1 in 7 adults, an estimated 35.5 million people are believed to have some stage of CKD, and up to 90% of those cases go undetected, according to the CDC.
For Black Americans, the crisis is even more acute. The National Institute of Health found that they are four times more likely than white Americans to develop kidney failure and are less likely to receive early detection or specialist care. DeLorean AI’s technology could be a game changer by identifying those at highest risk before irreversible damage occurs.
By analyzing years of patient data through electronic health records, the company’s AI models can spot the earliest signs of renal deterioration and recommend proactive interventions. CultureBanx reported that this means health systems can start treatment or adjust lifestyle care plans months, or even years before patients hit a crisis point.
“We focus on making AI outputs intuitive and transparent so physicians and patients can easily understand and trust them. Every prediction includes a clear “what to do” and “why” explanation, along with 6–24 months of supporting patient data,” said DeLorean AI CEO Sev MacLaughlin.
Chronic Costs:
From a cost standpoint, Medicare’s burden is illustrative. For example, in 2019, CKD treatment among beneficiaries cost $87.2 billion, and treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) an additional $37.3 billion. More broadly, BioMed Central noted that CKD patients incur about $22,348 per year on average in medical expenditures, that’s nearly three times the cost for non-CKD counterparts.
At the same time, the broader AI-in-healthcare sector is on a steep upward curve. The global market was estimated around $26 billion in 2024, and is forecast to reach $187 billion by 2030, according to a report from Grand View Research.
Taken together, DeLorean AI is entering a market with both urgency and room for disruption. Their addressable segment is a fraction of the larger AI healthcare space, but with much higher stakes especially for Black and Latino patients, who are often diagnosed at later stages due to gaps in access, provider bias, and systemic distrust of the healthcare system.
Reinventing Renal Care:
DeLorean AI doesn’t just aim to predict whether someone’s kidney function will decline, it seeks to rewrite the care pathway entirely. A core differentiator is lead time as the company claims its renal models can detect high-risk trajectories up to 24 months earlier than standard clinical monitoring would. In practice, that window enables preventive interventions well before irreversible kidney damage sets in.
The company mission is about being proactive, not reactive. It claims DeLorean AI can identify diseases up to five years before diagnosis, giving patients time to choose better treatment options and dramatically improving survival rates.
“Each prediction is hyper-personalized to the individual patient and their physician, ensuring interventions are precise and actionable. We believe access to this kind of technology is a moral imperative, if it exists to prevent disease and save lives, it must be deployed equitably,” MacLaughlin said.
Prediction alone is not enough and DeLorean AI emphasizes the “last-mile” care path which means once the algorithm flags a patient, care teams receive actionable insights and individualized risk breakdowns. This may prompt closer monitoring, medication adjustments, lifestyle interventions, or timely referrals.
As promising as this tech is, there’s a risk of repeating the same disparities it’s trying to solve. AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. We must consider that if datasets are skewed toward white or affluent patients, the algorithm might miss subtle but important indicators in patients from communities of color.
What’s Next:
Kidney disease doesn’t just affect health, it impacts economic mobility, family structures, and community productivity. If DeLorean’s tech can bend the curve, especially for patients who disproportionately suffer at a higher rate and spend on kidney care, it could free up not just lives, but generational potential. Early detection means more time with loved ones, fewer medical bankruptcies, and stronger communities. It’s plausible that DeLorean AI might not just rewrite kidney care, they could help avert the dialysis surge the world can’t afford.