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Oncology startups
Every young company in OnCo that is going after cancer: Y Combinator companies from the open YC directory, and venture-backed startups across therapeutics, diagnostics, AI drug discovery, digital care, radiotherapy hardware, surgery and imaging. Filter by stage, modality, cancer, YC batch, investor and country. Funding rounds are listed only where a press release, filing or trade report states them; investors are named on the startup, and each investor page derives its portfolio from those links.
335 startups63 from Y Combinator across 25 batches70 investors, 64 with a portfolio here188 sourced rounds (2018 to 2026)
Startup156 companiesGrowth stage97 companiesPublic33 companiesLarge private0 companiesAcquired37 companiesWound down7 companies
YC oncology
Source: open YC directory datasetY Combinator companies whose stated work is cancer: detection, diagnostics, therapeutics, care delivery and the tools around them. Each one was checked against its YC profile and website. Click a batch to filter the table; the snapshot with every hit and how it was classified is in src/data/universe-lists/yc-oncology.json.
335 startups
| Investors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kelonia Therapeutics Boston, MA, US · founded 2020 Kelonia developed a way to create CAR T cells directly inside the body using a targeted gene delivery particle, so patients do not need their cells removed and manufactured. Its lead programme is for multiple myeloma and Eli Lilly agreed to buy the company in 2026 for up to $7 billion. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $3.3B | none | Multiple myeloma | none | ||
Thyme Care Nashville, TN, US · founded 2020 Thyme Care gives people with cancer a 24 hour phone and app based support team of oncology nurses and social workers, paid for by their health insurer. It aims to keep people out of hospital and lower the cost of cancer care. | none | Series E 2026 · $125M | Foresite Capital, Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health | none | none | ||
Naveris Waltham, MA, US · founded 2017 Naveris makes NavDx, a blood test that tracks DNA from the HPV virus shed by tumours, so doctors can confirm HPV-related throat and anal cancers and catch them coming back after treatment. It was bought by CareDx in 2026. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $160M | ACS BrightEdge | Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | none | ||
Quantum Surgical Montpellier, FR · founded 2017 Quantum Surgical builds Epione, a robot that helps doctors guide needles through the skin to destroy liver and other tumours with heat or cold, making a minimally invasive treatment more precise and easier for less experienced operators. | none | Grant 2026 | none | Hepatocellular carcinoma, Colorectal cancer, Renal cell carcinoma | none | ||
MaaT Pharma Lyon, FR · founded 2014 MaaT Pharma makes gut microbiome treatments for people with blood cancer. Its lead product restores gut bacteria to treat a severe complication of stem cell transplants when standard drugs fail. | none | Debt 2026 | none | none | none | ||
Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Toronto, CA · founded 2013 Perimeter makes a scanner that gives surgeons a microscope-level 3D look at the edges of tissue they have just removed during breast cancer surgery, with artificial intelligence flagging suspicious areas, so they can take more tissue immediately rather than bringing the patient back for a second operation. | none | Crossover 2026 | none | HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer, Triple-negative breast cancer, HER2-positive breast cancer | none | ||
Adcendo Copenhagen, DK Adcendo is a Danish company developing antibody-drug conjugates, antibodies that deliver a cell-killing drug straight to cancer cells, against targets few others are pursuing. Its first medicines are in early human trials, including one for soft tissue sarcoma. | none | Series C 2026 · $75M | TCGX, OrbiMed, Venrock | Sarcomas | none | ||
Allotera Therapeutics (formerly Wugen) St. Louis, MO, US Allotera, formerly Wugen, makes off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapies from healthy donor cells for T-cell leukaemias and lymphomas, which are hard to treat with conventional CAR T because the cancer cells look like the therapy cells. Its lead product is in a global pivotal trial. | none | Series C 2026 · $35M | none | Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Acute myeloid leukaemia | none | ||
Arcellx Redwood City, CA, US Arcellx developed anito-cel, a CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma that reprogrammes a patient's own immune cells to attack a marker called BCMA. Gilead bought the company in 2026 for about $7.8 billion ahead of a possible US approval. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $7.8B | none | Multiple myeloma | none | ||
ClearNote Health San Diego, CA, US ClearNote Health sells blood tests that look for chemical marks on DNA fragments in the blood to catch pancreatic and ovarian cancer early in people at high risk. | none | Series D 2026 · $52M | none | Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Ovarian cancer | none | ||
Cullgen San Diego, CA, US Cullgen designs drugs that tag disease-causing proteins for destruction by the cell's own recycling system, and links such drugs to antibodies. In May 2026 it became part of Gyre Therapeutics, a US and China company focused on fibrosis. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $300M | none | none | none | ||
Empyrean Medical Systems Boca Raton, FL, US Empyrean Medical Systems, of Florida, develops radiotherapy machines that use magnetic fields to shape high-energy electron beams, an MD Anderson approach designed for both conventional and FLASH dose rates, plus Vektra, a robotic arm for delivering radiation during surgery. None of its patient-treatment devices is yet cleared for sale. | none | Debt 2026 | none | none | none | ||
Firefly Bio South San Francisco, CA, US Firefly Bio attaches protein-destroying molecules to antibodies so they are delivered only into cancer cells, a new twist on antibody-drug conjugates. Johnson & Johnson bought the company for about 1 billion dollars in 2026. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $1B | Versant Ventures, MPM BioImpact, Lilly Ventures | none | none | ||
GT Medical Technologies Tempe, AZ, US GT Medical Technologies makes GammaTile, small dissolvable collagen tiles containing radioactive caesium seeds that a neurosurgeon places in the cavity left after removing a brain tumour, so radiation starts immediately and the patient avoids weeks of daily radiotherapy visits. | none | Series E 2026 · $100M | Gilde Healthcare | Glioma & glioblastoma | none | ||
Kanvas Biosciences Monmouth Junction, NJ, US Kanvas maps which bacteria live in the gut and turns that knowledge into bacterial medicines that help cancer immunotherapy work better and treat its gut side effects. | none | Series A 2026 · $48M | none | Non-small-cell lung cancer | none | ||
Monteris Medical Minnetonka, MN, US Monteris makes NeuroBlate, a system that lets a neurosurgeon destroy a brain tumour from the inside with a laser fibre inserted through a small hole in the skull while watching the heat spread on a live MRI scan, avoiding open brain surgery. | none | Series E 2026 · $28M | none | Glioma & glioblastoma | none | ||
Myricx Bio London, GB Myricx Bio invented a new kind of cancer-killing payload, which blocks an enzyme tumour cells need to survive, and attaches it to antibodies that carry it into tumours. Novartis bought the London company in 2026 for 1.1 billion dollars up front. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $1.1B | Cancer Research Horizons | none | none | ||
Neomorph San Diego, CA, US Neomorph makes small molecules called molecular glues that stick a disease protein to the cell's disposal machinery so it is destroyed. Its first drug is in an early trial for clear cell kidney cancer. | none | Series B 2026 · $100M | Deerfield Management, Longwood Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments | Renal cell carcinoma | none | ||
Nucleus RadioPharma Rochester, MN, US Nucleus RadioPharma does not make its own cancer drugs; it manufactures and ships radioactive cancer medicines for other companies, which is hard because the drugs decay within days. It is expanding its plants in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. | none | Series B 2026 · $50M | OrbiMed | none | none | ||
Nykode Therapeutics Oslo, NO Nykode makes cancer vaccines that teach the immune system to attack tumours. One is built from each patient's own tumour mutations; another targets cancers caused by the HPV16 virus, such as cervical cancer. | none | Crossover 2026 | none | Cervical cancer, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma | none | ||
Obsidian Therapeutics Cambridge, MA, US Obsidian grows a patient's own tumour-fighting immune cells and engineers them with a switch that lets doctors control a growth signal (IL-15) with an oral drug, aiming to make TIL therapy safer and more effective for melanoma and lung cancer. It listed on Nasdaq in August 2026 after raising $350 million. | none | Crossover 2026 · $350M | Atlas Venture, Foresite Capital, Logos Capital | Melanoma, Non-small-cell lung cancer | none | ||
OSE Immunotherapeutics Nantes, FR OSE Immunotherapeutics develops immune treatments for cancer and inflammatory disease. Its lead cancer product is an off-the-shelf vaccine for lung cancer patients whose immunotherapy has stopped working, now in a late-stage trial. | none | Crossover 2026 | none | Non-small-cell lung cancer, Ovarian cancer | 1 | ||
Ratio Therapeutics Boston, MA, US Ratio Therapeutics, of Boston, designs small molecules that carry a radioactive isotope to fibroblast activation protein, a protein on the supporting tissue of sarcomas and other solid tumours, so radiation is delivered from inside the body. Its lead, an actinium-225 radioligand, is in the ATLAS phase 1/2 trial in advanced sarcomas. | none | Series C 2026 · $70M | none | Sarcomas | none | ||
Reimagine Care Nashville, TN, US Reimagine Care gives cancer patients a text based assistant and oncology trained nurses available around the clock, so side effects can be handled at home instead of in an emergency department. It was bought by the French company Cureety in 2026. | none | Acquisition 2026 | Sante Ventures, McKesson Ventures | none | none | ||
Repare Therapeutics Montreal, CA Repare Therapeutics was a Montreal cancer drug developer working on drugs that stop tumours repairing their own DNA. In January 2026 it was bought by a non-profit called XenoTherapeutics and its shares stopped trading. | none | Acquisition 2026 | none | none | none | ||
Trial Library San Francisco, CA, US · founded 2022 Trial Library is software that helps everyday cancer clinics spot which patients might qualify for a clinical trial, refer them, and remove practical barriers like transport so more people, especially in under served communities, can join trials. | none | Series A 2025 · $10M | Sanofi Ventures, Lux Capital | none | none | ||
ARTBIO Cambridge, MA, US · founded 2021 ARTBIO makes cancer treatments that deliver short-range alpha radiation from lead-212 directly to tumour cells, starting with prostate cancer. Its first medicine is in early human trials, currently paused by the company while it reviews data. | none | Series B 2025 · $132M | none | Prostate cancer | none | ||
Treeline Biosciences Watertown, MA, US · founded 2021 Treeline Biosciences is a well-funded private company building cancer drugs of several kinds, including a pill that blocks all forms of the KRAS cancer protein and drugs for lymphoma. | none | Form D offering 2025 · $200M | none | Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | none | ||
Ambagon Therapeutics Eindhoven, NL · founded 2020 Ambagon Therapeutics designs small molecules that act like glue, locking a hub protein called 14-3-3 onto its partner proteins to switch them on or off. It is an early-stage company with cancer and brain disease programmes. | none | Form D offering 2025 · $5M | none | Colorectal cancer | none | ||
Capstan Therapeutics San Diego, CA, US · founded 2020 Capstan built a way to create CAR T cells inside the patient's body by delivering messenger RNA in targeted lipid nanoparticles, avoiding the need to manufacture cells outside the body. AbbVie bought it in 2025 for $2.1 billion. | none | Acquisition 2025 · $2.1B | none | none | none |
(showing the first 30)
Most active investors
All investorsCounted from the graph: the number of OnCo companies that name the investor. This measures presence in this corpus, not fund size.
64 investors
| Investor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Y Combinator San Francisco, CA, US | Accelerator | US | 63 |
| 2 | Even One Ventures United States (head office not published), US | Venture capital | US | 14 |
| 3 | RA Capital Management Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 10 |
| 4 | Atlas Venture Cambridge, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 6 |
| 5 | Frazier Life Sciences Seattle, WA, US | Venture capital | US | 6 |
| 6 | Alexandria Venture Investments Pasadena, CA, US | Corporate venture | US | 5 |
| 7 | Flagship Pioneering Cambridge, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 5 |
| 8 | Foresite Capital San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 5 |
| 9 | ARCH Venture Partners Chicago, IL, US | Venture capital | US | 4 |
| 10 | Jeito Capital Paris, FR | Venture capital | FR | 4 |
| 11 | Lightspeed Venture Partners Menlo Park, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 4 |
| 12 | Logos Capital San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 4 |
| 13 | Novo Holdings Hellerup, DK | Venture capital | DK | 4 |
| 14 | OrbiMed New York, NY, US | Venture capital | US | 4 |
| 15 | Versant Ventures San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 4 |
| 16 | Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health Menlo Park, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 17 | Bpifrance Paris, FR | Venture capital | FR | 3 |
| 18 | Cancer Research Horizons London, GB | Foundation | GB | 3 |
| 19 | Cormorant Asset Management Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 20 | DCVC Palo Alto, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 21 | Samsara BioCapital Palo Alto, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 22 | Section 32 (S32) San Diego, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 23 | SV Health Investors London, GB | Venture capital | GB | 3 |
| 24 | TCGX (TCG Crossover) San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
| 25 | Venrock Palo Alto, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 3 |
(showing the first 25)
Recently funded
Newest sourced roundsRounds with a public source, newest first. Amounts appear only where the source gives one.
- Obsidian Therapeutics · Crossover$350M · 2026 · source
- Thyme Care · Series E$125M · 2026 · source
- GT Medical Technologies · Series E$100M · 2026 · source
- Neomorph · Series B$100M · 2026 · source
- Adcendo · Series C$75M · 2026 · source
- Ratio Therapeutics · Series C$70M · 2026 · source
- ClearNote Health · Series D$52M · 2026 · source
- Nucleus RadioPharma · Series B$50M · 2026 · source
- Kanvas Biosciences · Series A$48M · 2026 · source
- Allotera Therapeutics (formerly Wugen) · Series C$35M · 2026 · source
- Monteris Medical · Debt$35M · 2026 · source
- Monteris Medical · Series E$28M · 2026 · source
- Empyrean Medical Systems · Debtundisclosed · 2026 · source
- MaaT Pharma · Debtundisclosed · 2026 · source
- Nykode Therapeutics · Crossoverundisclosed · 2026 · source
- OSE Immunotherapeutics · Crossoverundisclosed · 2026 · source
- Perimeter Medical Imaging AI · Crossoverundisclosed · 2026 · source
- Perimeter Medical Imaging AI · Debtundisclosed · 2026 · source
- Quantum Surgical · Grantundisclosed · 2026 · source
- BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics · IPO$382M · 2025 · source
- Pathos AI · Series D$365M · 2025 · source
- Treeline Biosciences · Form D offering$200M · 2025 · source
- Callio Therapeutics · Series A$187M · 2025 · source
- Strand Therapeutics · Series B$153M · 2025 · source
Browse by company type
Large pharma 128Biotech 478Diagnostics 103Imaging equipment 21Devices & RT hardware 85AI & software 105Radiopharmaceuticals 50Cell therapy 81Services 56Nonprofit 10Investor 70Cooperative group 57StartupGrowth stagePublicLarge privateAcquiredWound down
Method. A company is on this page when its stage is startup or growth, when it has a Y Combinator batch, or when it was bought or wound down after being venture-backed. Chinese and Indian companies are covered in their own passes and are not repeated here. Suggest a missing company or a correction through the edit link on any record.