Exclusive: Not all cancer patients need chemo. Ataraxis AI raised $20M to fix that.
Mar 05, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Ataraxis AI, a New York-based startup, is leveraging artificial intelligence to improve cancer care by predicting not only the presence of cancer but also the long-term outcomes for patients. Their technology aims to determine if aggressive treatments like chemotherapy are necessary, potentially avoiding unnecessary side effects and costs. The company plans to launch its first commercial test for breast cancer to U.S. oncologists soon, backed by a $20.4 million Series A funding round led by AIX Ventures. Ataraxis was co-founded by Jan Witowski and Krzysztof Geras, and its AI model, trained on millions of high-resolution cancer cell images, has shown to be 30% more accurate than current standards for breast cancer detection.
Ataraxis aims to impact at least half of new cancer cases by 2030 and positions itself as a frontier AI company in healthcare, with Yann LeCun as an AI advisor. The AI boom has spurred significant investment in cancer care startups, with companies like Valar Labs and Manas AI also raising substantial funds for AI-driven cancer treatment and drug discovery solutions. Charles Rollet, a senior reporter at TechCrunch, covers these developments and has a background in investigative reporting on the tech industry.
Key takeaways:
Ataraxis AI is developing AI technology to predict cancer outcomes and potentially avoid unnecessary chemotherapy treatments.
The startup plans to launch its first commercial test for breast cancer in the U.S. and has raised a $20.4 million Series A to support this effort.
Ataraxis' AI model is trained on high-resolution images of cancer cells and has shown to be 30% more accurate than the current standard of care for breast cancer.
Ataraxis aims to impact at least half of new cancer cases by 2030 and is advised by Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun.
