SpotitEarly, a biotech startup that uses AI and dogs to detect cancer using an at-home test, announced its launch into the U.S. market with $20.3 million in funding.
The company has received funding from Menomedin VC, Jeff Swartz (former CEO of Timberland), Avishai Abrahami (CEO of Wix.com), Hanaco VC and others.
Additionally, SpotitEarly was awarded grants, including one from the BIRD Foundation, which funds research and development between Israeli and American companies.
The company also announced the appointments of U.S.-based advisors to its board, including Dr. David Sidransky, an expert in molecular genetic cancer detection; Jonathan Fleming, a lecturer at MIT and a MedTech investor; and Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, former CEO of the American Cancer Society. Lichtenfeld will also serve as SpotitEarly’s chief medical officer.
WHAT IT DOES
SpotitEarly is a cancer screening company that uses AI and canines to analyze volatile organic compounds in a breath sample to detect early-stage cancer.
An individual collects a breath sample with an at-home test. The company then uses trained canines’ scent detection and its LUCID AI technology, which analyzes thousands of data points on a dog’s physical and behavioral signals, to detect early-stage cancer.
The test, which will be made commercially available in the U.S. in 2026, can help detect four types of cancer: breast, colorectal, prostate and lung.
The company said that a study on its technology, published in Nature, showed a 94% accuracy rate in detecting cancer.
SpotitEarly will use the funds to scale its reach in the U.S. and enhance its cancer detection technology. It also announced the opening of its Series A funding round alongside its launch into the U.S.
“Only 14 percent of the U.S. population is diagnosed with cancer through a preventative screening method; patients have a better chance of being diagnosed with cancer in the emergency room – a clear indication of systematic issues within our healthcare system, which has more often than not prioritized treatment over prevention,” Shlomi Madar, CEO of SpotitEarly, told MobiHealthNews in an email.
“By making early cancer detection and diagnosis more accessible, more affordable and less invasive, we are positioned to improve survival rates for millions of Americans, and more broadly, help shift the U.S. healthcare system from a reactive model to a proactive one.”
MARKET SNAPSHOT
One of the earliest studies on canines’ ability to detect cancer was published in 1989 in The Lancet, dubbed “Sniffer dogs in the Melanoma clinic?”
A more recent study, “Evidence for canine olfactory detection of melanoma,” found that dogs can detect melanoma due to “the biological or non-biological detection of volatile chemicals emanating from skin lesions.”
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