Phases is an AI-driven company based in San Francisco, specializing in automating clinical trial operations with its main product, Polly. Polly is an AI agent designed specifically for patient recruitment in clinical trials, helping research teams identify, engage, and schedule eligible participants efficiently.
How Does Phases' Polly Work?
Polly leverages AI to transform patient recruitment and management for clinical trials. The platform can scan entire patient databases in under 60 seconds, instantly identifying new matches for active studies. Polly automatically prescreens patients using human-like interactions across phone, chat, text, and email, ensuring a seamless experience for candidates. It collects detailed medical histories, matches patients to appropriate trials, and even schedules visits and transportation for eligible participants. By engaging patients 24/7 and personalizing interactions, Polly increases conversion rates and accelerates recruitment timelines.
What Problem Does Phases Solve?
Clinical trial recruitment is notoriously slow and resource-intensive, often delaying research timelines. Phases addresses this by automating critical steps—patient identification, eligibility screening, engagement, and logistics—through AI agents. This reduces manual work for research coordinators and enhances the likelihood of finding and retaining suitable participants for studies.
Who Uses Phases?
Phases serves organizations running clinical trials, such as pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and clinical research organizations (CROs) seeking to accelerate patient recruitment and streamline trial operations. While specific customer names have not been publicly disclosed, the company’s approach is suited to any healthcare entity involved in clinical research.
What Sets Phases Apart?
Phases differentiates itself with its speed and automation: Polly’s ability to scan entire databases in seconds and engage patients through multi-channel, human-like communication makes it a powerful tool for modern clinical operations. Its end-to-end automation—from prescreening to scheduling and ongoing engagement—helps research teams operate more efficiently and improves patient experiences.
Leadership Team at Phases
Phases was co-founded by Anton Zaliznyi (Chief AI Officer), an ex-Software Engineer at Palantir and AI researcher at the University of Toronto; James Wall (CEO), who has designed AI agents for major healthcare companies and brings personal experience from a family background in clinical trials; and Jonathan van Wersch. The team’s expertise in AI, software engineering, and clinical research underpins the company’s innovative approach.
Recent Milestones
Phases was recently accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 batch, highlighting its momentum and commitment to advancing AI-driven automation in clinical trials.
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