Oncology
AI, Imaging and Biomarkers: 5 Startups Improving Oncology Decisions
DealBio tracks early-stage health startups across Europe and North America. These 5 are using AI, imaging and biomarkers to improve oncology decisions around screening, patient selection and cancer procedures.
- Oncology
- AI Health
- Medical Imaging
- Biomarkers
Oncology decisions increasingly depend on extracting more information from data that clinicians already collect: molecular profiles, imaging, tissue and screening tests.
The five startups below work at different stages of the pathway, but share a common aim: improving the quality or timing of a decision before treatment begins or while a procedure is still underway.
At a Glance
- Blank BioUnited States2025RNA models for patient selection
- Capillon AnalyticsSweden2024Earlier triage before biopsy
- AdialanteUnited States2023Mobile MRI before biopsy
- SPCTRNetherlands2025Margin assessment during surgery
- Clee MedicalSwitzerland2024Live tissue information in brain procedures
Training RNA foundation models for precision medicine and clinical trials.
- Country
United States- Founded
- 2025
- Sector
- Biotech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Blank Bio stands out
Blank Bio raised a $7.2 million oversubscribed seed round in May 2026 and partnered with PacBio to generate long-read RNA-sequencing data from patient tumor samples.
Its Orthrus RNA foundation model was published in Nature Methods in 2026. The relevance to the article thesis is patient selection: Blank Bio is using RNA data to make the treatment-response decision more precise before a trial or therapy begins.
What Blank Bio is building
Blank Bio analyzes RNA-sequencing data to help pharmaceutical and diagnostic teams predict treatment response, estimate disease progression and improve molecular tests.
The platform is designed to work with RNA data already generated in oncology development, adding a predictive layer without changing how samples are collected or sequenced.
Developing a hair-sample test for early prostate cancer detection.
- Country
Sweden- Founded
- 2024
- Sector
- Diagnostics
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Capillon Analytics stands out
Capillon Analytics reported approximately 90% accuracy for its prostate-cancer prototype, while related Prostate Cancer Foundation-backed research reported about 94% accuracy in preliminary work.
The underlying research has received Prostate Cancer Foundation support, and a 2026 patent application covers isotopic hair or nail analysis combined with machine learning for cancer detection.
What Capillon Analytics is building
IsoTect is a hair-based test intended to complement PSA testing before biopsy. Capillon Analytics’ Lund laboratory measures stable-isotope patterns by mass spectrometry and applies machine learning to identify signals associated with prostate cancer.
The sampling step is non-invasive and can be performed away from a specialist facility. For oncology decision-making, the value is earlier triage: the test is designed to add another signal before a patient is sent for biopsy.
Making compact mobile MRI screening accessible outside traditional imaging centers.
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 2023
- Sector
- Medtech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Adialante stands out
Adialante reports $19.75 million in signed letters of intent across 11 clinics and has more than $3 million in non-dilutive funding behind its compact MRI program.
The first clinical application is prostate imaging before biopsy, placing Adialante directly at a screening decision point: whether a patient should proceed to an invasive diagnostic procedure.
What Adialante is building
Adialante is developing a compact mobile MRI system using a gradient-free architecture that requires no liquid helium or dedicated shielded room.
The startup plans to own and operate mobile units and charge clinics per scan, changing both the infrastructure footprint and how specialist practices gain access to MRI.
04
SPCTR
Using light and AI to tell surgeons during an operation if a tumor was fully removed.
- Country
Netherlands- Founded
- 2025
- Sector
- Medtech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why SPCTR stands out
SPCTR is trying to move breast-cancer margin assessment into the operating room, where the result can influence whether more tissue is removed before the procedure ends. It has raised €350,000 and is running a first-in-human study across three Dutch hospitals.
CEO Wido Heeman previously took another surgical-imaging technology from prototype to first-in-human studies, while CTO Rowan Timmermans brings software-product experience at scale.
What SPCTR is building
SPCTRone analyzes light reflected from removed tissue and uses AI trained against pathology to classify whether a surgical margin appears cancer-free while the patient is still in surgery.
The device is designed to work without injected dyes or an additional specialist in the operating room, starting with breast-conserving surgery and later expanding to other solid tumors.
Building real-time tissue imaging and AI guidance for minimally invasive brain surgery.
- Country
Switzerland- Founded
- 2024
- Sector
- Medtech
- Funding stage
- Seed or earlier
- Founders
Why Clee Medical stands out
Clee Medical adds AI-assisted live tissue information to neurosurgical navigation, giving surgeons another signal while deciding how to advance toward deep brain targets. Neuro Access was used in 11 neurosurgical procedures during the startup’s first year.
CTO Abed Hammoud previously helped build two surgical-navigation startups that were later acquired, giving the team direct experience in translating navigation technology into clinical systems.
What Clee Medical is building
Neuro Access is a narrow, single-use probe that travels along the surgical track and combines optical coherence tomography with software that classifies tissue and detects blood flow.
The system is designed to complement existing stereotactic navigation rather than replace it, adding micrometer-scale information directly ahead of the instrument during procedures including deep-tumor biopsy.
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Oncology intelligence is moving closer to the decision point
These startups sit at different points in the oncology pathway, but each is trying to reduce uncertainty around a specific decision: who should be biopsied, which patients may respond to therapy, whether imaging is available before biopsy, whether a tumor margin is clear and what tissue lies ahead during a brain procedure.
The investor signal is not simply more data. It is whether a new signal arrives early enough, accurately enough and inside the right workflow to change what happens next. That gives these products a clearer role in oncology because their value can be judged against a defined decision rather than a broad promise to make cancer care more intelligent.
Methodology
DealBio selected these startups from its database of early-stage health and longevity startups, focusing on businesses where AI, imaging or biomarkers materially inform an oncology decision. The selection spans screening, clinical-trial patient selection, procedural imaging and intraoperative assessment.
DealBio builds its Startup Briefs using publicly available company materials, ecosystem sources, market references and professional profiles.