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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.
576 startups63 from Y Combinator across 25 batches70 investors, 67 with a portfolio here351 sourced rounds (2018 to 2026)
Startup334 companiesGrowth stage142 companiesPublic40 companiesLarge private0 companiesAcquired46 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.
576 startups
| Investors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solstice Oncology Boston, MA, US · founded 2026 Solstice Oncology is testing porustobart, an antibody that releases a brake on the immune system, given with the immunotherapy pembrolizumab before surgery. Its first trial is in people with stage II to III colon cancer of the common type that has not usually responded to immunotherapy (microsatellite stable). | none | Series A 2026 · $225M | RA Capital Management, Forbion | Colon cancer | none | ||
Vivacta Bio Shanghai, CN · founded 2025 Vivacta Bio is a Shanghai company giving CAR-T therapy as an injection that reprogrammes a patient's T cells inside the body, instead of making the cells in a laboratory. Its first product, aimed at B-cell blood cancers and autoimmune disease, showed early human results at a December 2025 meeting. | none | Series A and A+ 2026 · $50M | OrbiMed | none | none | ||
SciBrunch Therapeutics Shanghai, CN · founded 2024 SciBrunch Therapeutics is a Shanghai company founded in late 2024 that makes pills for hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic and bowel cancer. In September 2026 MSD licensed its KRAS G12D drug, a molecular glue not yet tested in people, for USD 400 million upfront; its PARP1 blocker began its first human trial in January 2026. | none | Pre-Series A 2026 · $35M | none | Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Colorectal cancer, Non-small-cell lung cancer | none | ||
TwoStep Therapeutics San Carlos, CA, US · founded 2024 TwoStep Therapeutics makes small peptides that home in on proteins found on many solid tumours and carry a cancer drug to them. Its first medicine, TS-104, started an early trial in 2026. | none | Series A 2026 · $63M | Pfizer Ventures | Non-small-cell lung cancer, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Ovarian cancer | none | ||
Sidewinder Therapeutics San Diego, CA, US · founded 2023 Sidewinder Therapeutics designs antibody-drug conjugates that bind two proteins found together on some solid tumours, so the cell-killing drug is taken up mainly by cancer cells. It is aiming at squamous lung, head and neck and bowel cancers, with its first human trial expected in 2027. | none | Series B 2026 · $137M | OrbiMed, Frazier Life Sciences, Novartis Venture Fund | Non-small-cell lung cancer, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Colorectal cancer | none | ||
Cosomil Tokyo, JP · founded 2022 Cosomil makes a blood test that measures the activity of single enzyme molecules, aimed at finding pancreatic cancer early. The test is being studied in about 10,000 people having routine health checks in Japan. | none | Series A1 2026 | none | Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma | none | ||
InduPro Therapeutics Seattle, WA, US · founded 2022 InduPro Therapeutics maps which proteins sit side by side on the surface of cancer cells and designs two-armed antibody-drug conjugates that bind such a pair. Its first medicine, for lung and other squamous cancers, entered a phase 1 trial in 2026. | none | Series B 2026 · $77M | Vida Ventures | Non-small-cell lung cancer | none | ||
Link Cell Therapies South San Francisco, CA, US · founded 2022 Link Cell Therapies makes CAR-T cells that only attack a cell when they find two cancer markers on it together, which is meant to spare healthy tissue that carries just one. Its first treatment, for advanced kidney cancer, began dosing patients in 2026. | none | Series A extension 2026 · $30M | Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Samsara BioCapital | Clear cell renal cell carcinoma | none | ||
LTZ Therapeutics Redwood City, CA, US · founded 2022 LTZ Therapeutics makes two-armed antibodies that bring the immune system's scavenger cells, macrophages, into contact with cancer cells so they eat them. Its first medicines are in early trials in lymphoma and bowel cancer. | none | Private financing 2026 · $38M | none | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Colorectal cancer | none | ||
Stipple Bio Cambridge, MA, US · founded 2022 Stipple Bio looks for tiny regions on cancer-cell proteins that healthy cells do not show, then builds antibodies that bind only those regions. Its first medicine is an antibody-drug conjugate expected to start human trials in early 2027. | none | Series A 2026 · $100M | RA Capital Management, Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health, GV | none | none | ||
Third Arc Bio Spring House, PA, US · founded 2022 Third Arc Bio builds antibodies that link the immune system's T cells to cancer cells. Its first medicine, aimed at tumours carrying the protein Claudin 6, entered its first human trial in 2025. | none | Series A extension 2026 · $52M | Vida Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Omega Funds | none | none | ||
Infinitopes Oxford, GB · founded 2021 Infinitopes is an Oxford company making an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine meant to train the immune system to stop oesophageal cancer coming back after surgery. Its vaccine, ITOP1, was preparing for its first placebo-controlled human trial in 2026. | none | Seed (second close) 2026 · $15M | Cancer Research Horizons | Oesophageal cancer | none | ||
Neuregen Therapeutics Wuhan, CN · founded 2021 Neuregen Therapeutics is testing an injection for high-grade brain tumours that combines a cancer-killing virus, an immune booster and a technique meant to turn leftover tumour cells into cells that no longer divide. | none | Series A 2026 | none | Glioma & glioblastoma | none | ||
BlossomHill Therapeutics San Diego, CA, US · founded 2020 BlossomHill Therapeutics designs pills against cancer mutations and pathways that current drugs miss: BH-30643 for EGFR-mutant lung cancer that has stopped responding, BH-30236 for acute myeloid leukaemia and higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, and a pan-KRAS drug heading for trials in 2027. | none | IPO 2026 · $150M | Cormorant Asset Management, OrbiMed | EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer, Acute myeloid leukaemia, Higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes | none | ||
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 bought the company in the second quarter of 2026 in a deal worth up to $7 billion. | none | Acquisition 2026 · $3.3B | none | Multiple myeloma | none | ||
Mestag Therapeutics Cambridge, GB · founded 2020 Mestag Therapeutics, in Cambridge in the UK, makes antibodies that act on fibroblasts, the support cells around a tumour, to help the immune system organise an attack inside the tumour. Its first medicine, MST-0312, is in an early trial in advanced solid tumours. | none | Financing 2026 · $40M | SV Health Investors, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Forbion | none | 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 | ||
Apmonia Therapeutics Reims, FR · founded 2019 Apmonia Therapeutics makes small ring-shaped peptides aimed at the tissue around tumours. Its first medicine blocks a signal that helps tumours suppress the immune system, and is starting its first trial in people with advanced solid tumours. | none | Financing 2026 | none | none | none | ||
Ascendo Biotechnology Taipei, TW · founded 2019 Ascendo Biotechnology makes an antibody that releases a brake on the body's first-line immune cells, aiming to help the immune system attack solid tumours that resist current immunotherapy. | none | Series A 2026 | none | none | none | ||
KaliVir Immunotherapeutics Pittsburgh, PA, US · founded 2019 KaliVir Immunotherapeutics engineers viruses that infect and break open cancer cells while stirring an immune response. Its lead virus, VET3-TGI, is in an early trial in advanced solid tumours, alone and with the immunotherapy atezolizumab. | none | Series A extension 2026 · $14M | none | none | none | ||
Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience Shanghai, CN · founded 2017 Mabwell (Shanghai) Bioscience is a China-based biotechnology company running 11 late-stage cancer trials of Toripalimab (JS001 ) and JS207 in bladder & urothelial cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer. | none | IPO 2026 | none | Bladder & urothelial cancer, Cervical cancer, Colorectal cancer | 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 | ||
Parabilis Medicines Cambridge, MA, US · founded 2015 Parabilis Medicines makes stabilised peptides, small protein fragments locked into a helix so they can enter cells and grip cancer proteins that ordinary pills cannot. Its lead medicine, zolucatetide, blocks the beta-catenin signal behind desmoid tumours, and a phase 3 trial is planned for 2027. | none | IPO 2026 · $670M | ARCH Venture Partners, RA Capital Management, GV | Desmoid tumour, Familial adenomatous polyposis-associated colorectal cancer, Hepatocellular 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 | ||
Acurion San Diego, CA, US Acurion makes software that reads the ordinary biopsy slide a hospital already has and predicts which genetic changes the tumour carries, so a doctor can consider a targeted treatment without waiting weeks for a separate gene test. | none | Seed 2026 · $4M | none | Ovarian cancer, Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, 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 | ||
AptaDir Therapeutics Milan, IT AptaDir Therapeutics is developing short RNA medicines that switch back on genes a cancer has silenced, by blocking the enzyme that adds the chemical tags which turn those genes off. Its first candidate is for myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of bone marrow cancers, and was preclinical in 2024. | none | Seed 2026 | none | Myelodysplastic syndromes / neoplasms, Non-small-cell lung cancer | 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.
67 investors
| Investor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Y Combinator San Francisco, CA, US | Accelerator | US | 63 |
| 2 | RA Capital Management Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 18 |
| 3 | Alexandria Venture Investments Pasadena, CA, US | Corporate venture | US | 14 |
| 4 | Even One Ventures United States (head office not published), US | Venture capital | US | 14 |
| 5 | OrbiMed New York, NY, US | Venture capital | US | 13 |
| 6 | Cormorant Asset Management Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 10 |
| 7 | Novo Holdings Hellerup, DK | Venture capital | DK | 9 |
| 8 | Samsara BioCapital Palo Alto, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 9 |
| 9 | ARCH Venture Partners Chicago, IL, US | Venture capital | US | 7 |
| 10 | Atlas Venture Cambridge, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 7 |
| 11 | Foresite Capital San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 7 |
| 12 | Frazier Life Sciences Seattle, WA, US | Venture capital | US | 7 |
| 13 | Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC New Brunswick, NJ, US | Corporate venture | US | 7 |
| 14 | Versant Ventures San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 7 |
| 15 | ACS BrightEdge (American Cancer Society) Atlanta, GA, US | Foundation | US | 6 |
| 16 | Logos Capital San Francisco, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 6 |
| 17 | Pfizer Ventures New York, NY, US | Corporate venture | US | 6 |
| 18 | Polaris Partners Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 6 |
| 19 | Third Rock Ventures Boston, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 6 |
| 20 | Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health Menlo Park, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 5 |
| 21 | Bpifrance Paris, FR | Venture capital | FR | 5 |
| 22 | Cancer Research Horizons London, GB | Foundation | GB | 5 |
| 23 | DCVC Palo Alto, CA, US | Venture capital | US | 5 |
| 24 | Flagship Pioneering Cambridge, MA, US | Venture capital | US | 5 |
| 25 | GV (Google Ventures) Mountain View, CA, US | Corporate venture | US | 5 |
(showing the first 25)
Recently funded
Newest sourced roundsRounds with a public source, newest first. Amounts appear only where the source gives one.
- Parabilis Medicines · IPO$670M · 2026 · source
- Eikon Therapeutics · IPO$381M · 2026 · source
- Obsidian Therapeutics · Crossover$350M · 2026 · source
- Solstice Oncology · Series A$225M · 2026 · source
- BlossomHill Therapeutics · IPO$150M · 2026 · source
- Sidewinder Therapeutics · Series B$137M · 2026 · source
- Thyme Care · Series E$125M · 2026 · source
- BrainChild Bio · Series A$116M · 2026 · source
- Terremoto Biosciences · Series C$108M · 2026 · source
- EpiBiologics · Series B$107M · 2026 · source
- GT Medical Technologies · Series E$100M · 2026 · source
- Neomorph · Series B$100M · 2026 · source
- Stipple Bio · Series A$100M · 2026 · source
- Cytospire Therapeutics · Series A$83M · 2026 · source
- KymaThera · Series B$80M · 2026 · source
- Crossbow Therapeutics · Series B$77M · 2026 · source
- InduPro Therapeutics · Series B$77M · 2026 · source
- Adcendo · Series C$75M · 2026 · source
- Ratio Therapeutics · Series C$70M · 2026 · source
- TwoStep Therapeutics · Series A$63M · 2026 · source
- Breakthru Medicine · Series A$60M · 2026 · source
- ClearNote Health · Series D$52M · 2026 · source
- Third Arc Bio · Series A extension$52M · 2026 · source
- Nucleus RadioPharma · Series B$50M · 2026 · source
Browse by company type
Large pharma 130Biotech 648Diagnostics 127Imaging equipment 23Devices & RT hardware 98AI & software 121Radiopharmaceuticals 65Cell therapy 113Services 58Nonprofit 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.