Optellum Raises $14M in Series A Funding

Optellum, an Oxford, UK-based medtech company that provides an AI platform to diagnose and treat early-stage lung cancer, raised $14M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Mercia, with participation from Intuitive Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, St John’s College in the University of Oxford, IQ Capital, and the family office of Sir Martin & Lady Audrey Wood.

The company intends to use the funds to scale its base, operations, and commercial launches in the UK and USA; accelerate research and development; and expand its platform into personalized therapy decisions by integrating imaging data with molecular data, robotics, and liquid biopsies.

Led by CEO Jason Pesterfield and Founder Tara Bishop, MD, Optellum is the leader in AI-enabled lung cancer diagnosis, attaining FDA clearance, CE-MDR in the EU, and UKCA in the UK for its software platform Virtual Nodule Clinic. This platform can help physicians identify and track at-risk patients, and optimally diagnose the signs of lung cancer early, so treatment can be started sooner for patients with tumors, and invasive procedures such as biopsies on benign lesions can be minimized.

The company also has strategic collaborations with GE Healthcare and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson to accelerate clinical deployments and continue the advancement of the platform. In the UK, Optellum’s solution is being used to predict at-risk lung nodules in a multi-center study with NHS Trusts as part of a major investment in AI for healthcare.

The company also has a U.S. office at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.