The Dresden-based AI diagnostics company Cancilico, which develops AI-powered tools for blood cancer diagnosis, has raised 2.5 million euros in a Seed funding round led by a consortium including High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF).
Other investors in the round include TGFS – Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, GEDAD GmbH (an investment vehicle of the Ehninger family), and ROI Verwaltungsgesellschaft.
Founded in 2023 as a spin-off of the EKFZ for Digital Health at TUD Dresden, University of Technology, and University Hospital Dresden, Cancilico’s founding team comprises Markus Badstübner, Dr Moritz Middeke, Tim Schmittmann, Sebastian Riechert, Dr Jan Eckardt, Dr Karsten Wendt, and angel investor Prof. Gerhard Ehninger.
The company develops AI-driven diagnostic solutions for haematology to automate and improve the accuracy of blood and bone marrow analysis. Its MyeloAID product uses advanced AI to analyse bone marrow samples with speed and accuracy and can be implemented on any standard imaging microscope or scanner, enabling laboratories to upgrade diagnostic capabilities without replacing existing hardware. The underlying data model is trained on a large, validated dataset covering various malignancies and healthy individuals, and partnerships with haematopathology centres and pharmaceutical collaborators have supported biomarker and therapeutic development.
The funding will be used to accelerate Cancilico’s regulatory activities, including navigating the FDA and CE-IVDR landscapes, bring MyeloAID to market as a routine diagnostic tool to improve care for blood cancer patients, and advance digital biomarker development in haematological malignancies.
“We are facing a global shortage of haematologists, yet the complexity of diagnostic cases is rising. Our goal is to democratise access to expert-level diagnostics. This investment allows us to navigate the FDA and CE-IVDR regulatory landscapes and bring a tool to market that integrates seamlessly with existing lab hardware to improve patient outcomes without heavy capital expenditure,” said Markus Badstübner, CEO and Co-Founder of Cancilico.
