Beleaguered digital health company Babylon Health has filed for bankruptcy for two US subsidiaries, Forbes has reported, citing filings in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The report said Babylon is seeking Chapter 7 relief, meaning it plans to liquidate the company rather than restructure it. 

Babylon has at least three other US subsidiaries incorporated in Delaware, the report said.

Forbes reported that the filings for Babylon Inc. and Babylon Healthcare Inc. were dated August 9, the same day that Digital Health News reported that Babylon Health was looking to sell its UK business, including its 100,000 patient online-first NHS GP practice Babylon GP at Hand. At the time, the company said it could fall into administration.

In May, Digital Health reported that shares in Babylon had fallen sharply on news that the company was being taken private as part of a new debt plan. The company’s announcement in early August that it was looking for buyers for the UK business came as it disclosed that a $34.5m attempt to restructure and return to private ownership had fallen through.

The Babylon press team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Babylon Health was promoted as the future of the NHS by the then-health secretary Matt Hancock. Founded in 2013 by former UK Iranian banker Ali Parsa, the company claimed its artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionise healthcare through virtual appointments and diagnostic chatbots such as its GP at Hand.

Despite Babylon winning a number of NHS contracts, thanks in part to Hancock’s promotion of GP at Hand in 2018, experts continuously warned the technology was unproven and overhyped.

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