CancerX Unveils Next Accelerator Cohort Driving Breakthroughs in Cancer Care

TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2026) - CancerX, a national public-private partnership dedicated to advancing innovation across the cancer care continuum, announced today its newest startups joining its CancerX Accelerator program. These 12 companies, which will make up the third cohort of the program, are developing solutions to help transform how cancer is prevented, diagnosed and treated. The announcement also introduces new champion organizations - Rush Health, Atlantic Health, AstraZeneca and Novartis - joining the CancerX network to help scale these innovations and deliver real-world impact.

The CancerX Accelerator supports early-stage companies developing solutions that address critical gaps in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care coordination and survivorship, with an emphasis on real-world validation and adoption.

Inside CancerX Accelerator Cohort 3

Chosen from a highly competitive global applicant pool, the newest CancerX Accelerator startups bring fresh ideas and diverse perspectives to cancer care. Nearly one in five applicants came from outside the U.S., adding international insight to innovation. The group reflects CancerX's commitment to inclusivity with most founders new to entrepreneurship and strong representation from clinicians, patients and caregivers who understand cancer challenges firsthand. Many are focused on smarter care decisions, using personalized engagement and data-driven tools to improve outcomes for patients and care teams.

The 12 companies selected are: Banting AI, CareYaya Health Technologies, Cerula Care, Cystotech ApS, Entia, F-U Cancer, LivAi Inc, MyCareGorithm, Oncobrain, The WiTT Group, Inc., Tono Health, and WittGen Inc.

Together, these companies represent a range of technology-enabled approaches aimed at enhancing cancer care delivery, informed decision-making and improving the patient experience across the oncology continuum.

New Champions Join the CancerX Network

Alongside the Cohort 3 announcement, CancerX welcomed new champion organizations to its growing ecosystem - Rush University System for Health, Atlantic Health System, AstraZeneca and Novartis. Champions engage directly with startups through mentorship, validation and real-world insight to help accelerate learning, deployment and scale.

"Rush is excited to join CancerX because of its clear focus on translating innovation into real clinical and operational impact," said Anil Saldanha, CINO of Rush University System for Health. "The startups in Cohort 3 reflect the kind of founder-led, problem-driven solutions health systems want to engage with, grounded in care delivery realities and built to scale."

Industry partners highlighted the value of collaboration across sectors. "Championing CancerX aligns with our commitment to advancing oncology innovation through partnership," said Shirin Ahmid, VP, Medical Excellence, Strategy & Operations at AstraZeneca. "The accelerator brings together startups, health systems, and industry in a way that accelerates learning and helps promising ideas move closer to real-world care."

Building Powerful Partnerships to Accelerate Impact

After selecting the newest startups for the CancerX Accelerator, the program connected them with more than 16 champions from health systems, life sciences, investment and technology sectors. These champions actively participated in a three-month matching process to pair each startup with partners best positioned to help validate ideas and bring them to life in real-world care settings.

CancerX Accelerator will now engage founders in a structured program designed to refine products, build ecosystem connections and prepare for deployment while fostering collaboration across the broader oncology innovation community.

"CancerX consistently attracts oncology startups that combine deep clinical insight with disciplined execution," said Ben Freeberg, Founder and Managing Partner of Oncology Ventures. "Cohort 3 represents companies addressing real unmet needs, and we're committed to supporting their path to impact."

Reflecting on the accelerator's impact, Samira Daswani, Founder and CEO of Manta Cares and a past CancerX startup, added, "Our journey with CancerX was deeply collaborative and impact-driven. The program provided mentorship, ecosystem access, and real-world validation that helped us sharpen our approach and move faster toward meaningful change for patients and caregivers."

To learn more about the CancerX Accelerator and this year's startups, visit https://www.cancerx.health/accelerator.

About CancerX
CancerX is a groundbreaking public-private partnership designed to accelerate innovation in the fight against cancer. Hosted by Advocate Health and Moffitt Cancer Center and launched in coordination with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), as part of the HHS InnovationX program.

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