The HealthTech startup Cancilico from Dresden has completed a seed financing round of €2.5 million. The consortium is led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen, GEDAD GmbH, and ROI Verwaltungsgesellschaft by Roland Oetker. With the capital, the company founded in 2023 aims to bring its AI-based diagnostic software MyeloAID to market maturity.
MyeloAID analyzes bone marrow samples using artificial intelligence, enabling faster and more precise diagnoses for hematological diseases. The data model is based on a validated dataset of various blood cancer types as well as data from healthy individuals.
A unique selling point is its platform-independent design: the software works on any standard imaging microscope or scanner without requiring laboratories to replace their existing hardware infrastructure. As a Research-Use-Only variant, MyeloAID is already available and in use via the PathoZoom® Scan & LiveView Suite from Smart In Media.
Global shortage of specialists drives demand
“We face a worldwide shortage of hematological specialists, while the complexity and number of diagnostic cases are rising,” explains Markus Badstübner, CEO and co-founder of Cancilico. The goal is to make expert-level diagnostics broadly accessible and improve patient outcomes without high investment costs. CMO and co-founder Dr. Moritz Middeke adds: “Bone marrow analysis is one of the most complex and time-intensive disciplines in hematology.” The AI acts as a highly qualified digital colleague.
“We are convinced that we are investing in an outstanding team and superior technology that is already showing commercial success with its ‘Research Use Only’ data models,” says Dr. Jörg Traub, Principal at HTGF. The AI model uses training data from both diseased patients and healthy individuals, enabling better and faster classification.
Saxon life sciences ecosystem as foundation
The multidisciplinary team consists of CEO Markus Badstübner, CMO Dr. Moritz Middeke, Tim Schmittmann, Sebastian Riechert, Dr. Jan Eckardt, Dr. Karsten Wendt, and angel investor Prof. Gerhard Ehninger. The founders combine expertise in data science and clinical hematology.
Cancilico is deeply rooted in the Saxon life sciences ecosystem and works closely with the biotech network Biosaxony. The startup contributes to the Clusters4Future initiatives SaxoCell and SEMECO, which enable rapid translation pathways between research and market. With the fresh financing, Cancilico is now focusing on achieving regulatory approvals and establishing MyeloAID as a routine tool in hematological laboratories worldwide.
