Key Takeaways
- • Coherence Neuro raised a $45 million Series A co-led by Founders Fund and The OpenAI Startup Fund to develop technology for continuous cancer monitoring and eventual closed-loop treatment.
- • The company is pursuing electrical biomarkers of cancer, based on the thesis that tumors alter electrical activity in surrounding tissue and across the nervous system.
- • Preclinical mouse models showed implanted recording devices near brain tumors generating neural data used to train models that predict tumor growth trajectories.
- • Proceeds will fund a first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, an FDA Breakthrough Device designation application, and expansion of the preclinical pipeline into pancreatic cancer.
- • The round includes new investors Lux Capital, 8VC, Timeless, Olive Capital and Ahren, alongside returning investors Blackbird, Possible, Topology, Artesian, XEIA, Xtal and Divergent.
Summary
Coherence Neuro has raised a $45 million Series A co-led by Founders Fund and The OpenAI Startup Fund, according to the company's announcement reported by Pulse 2.0. The financing is intended to advance technology designed to continuously monitor cancer and, over time, enable treatment systems that adapt based on real-time biological data.
New investors in the round include Lux Capital, 8VC, Timeless, Olive Capital and Ahren. Individual investors include Neuralink Head Neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew MacDougall and Neuralink Principal Investigator Dr. Rory Murphy, along with Romina Nejad, Chad Byers and Maor Shlomo. Existing investors Blackbird, Possible, Topology, Artesian, XEIA, Xtal and Divergent also participated.
The company's core thesis is that tumors alter electrical activity in surrounding tissue and across the nervous system, creating signals that could be monitored over time. Coherence says it has begun validating this approach in preclinical mouse models, implanting small recording devices near growing brain tumors and using the resulting neural activity data to train models designed to predict tumor growth. The company states its models improve as they receive additional longitudinal data, which could allow clinicians to determine whether a tumor is growing, shrinking or recurring without relying exclusively on periodic imaging or blood tests.
Coherence's longer-term goal is a closed-loop system that both detects changes in cancer through electrical signals and delivers electrical stimulation through the same platform. The company describes its work as a platform of "read/write" devices intended to monitor and potentially treat cancer in real time. It has also begun testing devices in human trials.
With the new funding, Coherence plans to advance toward its first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, seek FDA Breakthrough Device designation, and expand its preclinical pipeline into pancreatic cancer and other indications. The company is also expanding its team across offices in San Francisco and Cambridge, United Kingdom. In its statement, Coherence said: "With this funding round, we're pushing ahead to our first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, seeking FDA breakthrough device designation, and expanding our pre-clinical pipeline across pancreatic cancer and beyond."
New investors in the round include Lux Capital, 8VC, Timeless, Olive Capital and Ahren. Individual investors include Neuralink Head Neurosurgeon Dr. Matthew MacDougall and Neuralink Principal Investigator Dr. Rory Murphy, along with Romina Nejad, Chad Byers and Maor Shlomo. Existing investors Blackbird, Possible, Topology, Artesian, XEIA, Xtal and Divergent also participated.
The company's core thesis is that tumors alter electrical activity in surrounding tissue and across the nervous system, creating signals that could be monitored over time. Coherence says it has begun validating this approach in preclinical mouse models, implanting small recording devices near growing brain tumors and using the resulting neural activity data to train models designed to predict tumor growth. The company states its models improve as they receive additional longitudinal data, which could allow clinicians to determine whether a tumor is growing, shrinking or recurring without relying exclusively on periodic imaging or blood tests.
Coherence's longer-term goal is a closed-loop system that both detects changes in cancer through electrical signals and delivers electrical stimulation through the same platform. The company describes its work as a platform of "read/write" devices intended to monitor and potentially treat cancer in real time. It has also begun testing devices in human trials.
With the new funding, Coherence plans to advance toward its first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, seek FDA Breakthrough Device designation, and expand its preclinical pipeline into pancreatic cancer and other indications. The company is also expanding its team across offices in San Francisco and Cambridge, United Kingdom. In its statement, Coherence said: "With this funding round, we're pushing ahead to our first chronic human trial in glioblastoma, seeking FDA breakthrough device designation, and expanding our pre-clinical pipeline across pancreatic cancer and beyond."
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