Oncosoft Completes Series A Funding with HBInvest and BNH Invest
[DealSite Reporter Yanghae Choi] Oncosoft, which develops artificial intelligence (AI)-based cancer treatment software, has raised 3 billion won in new investment. The company's success in raising funds in a frozen investment sentiment in biotech companies is noteworthy.
According to an investment banking (IB) industry report on the 19th, Onkosoft recently held a Series A round and recruited financial investors (FIs). The investment was led by two venture capital firms, HB Investment and BNH Investment. They contributed by purchasing new shares of Onkosoft's redeemable convertible preferred stock (RCPS).
It's the first time in more than a year that Onkosoft has received new funding. In July of last year, the company received a pre-Series A investment from healthcare AI company Vuno. Earlier, in 2020, the company received a seed investment from Bluepoint Partners, which recognized its growth potential.
Oncosoft is a biotech startup that opened its doors in 2019. Its name is a combination of 'Oncology', which means oncology, and 'software'. The founder is Jinseong Kim. He has over 20 years of experience in medical physics. He has worked at the National Cancer Center, Samsung Medical Center, and now Yonsei Cancer Hospital as an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Kim decided to start his own business with the ambition of localizing software for cancer treatment. Cancer treatment is divided into three main methods: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, of which both equipment and software for radiation therapy are imported from overseas. According to industry insiders, equipment worth 10 billion won and software worth hundreds of millions of won are all imported from overseas.
Oncosoft has applied its AI-based software to radiation therapy. By doing so, it succeeded in reducing the "long time required" and "deviation in task accuracy," which are currently cited as problems in radiation therapy. What used to take doctors three to four hours to design by hand can be done in 20 to 30 minutes, and the results are more uniform than if a human were to draw on a computed tomography (CT) image.
Investors also recognized the growth of the radiotherapy software market, which Oncosoft has entered.
"The AI medical imaging diagnosis market is highly competitive, and it is difficult to make sales due to the number of people," said an FI representative. "On the other hand, there are few competitors in the radiotherapy software market, and there has been a steady demand for AI adoption in the past, so Oncosoft's growth potential is high."
Investors also noted that the number of cancer patients is steadily increasing. According to Globocan, a global cancer report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 19.3 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2020, and 10 million people died from the disease. By 2040, the number of new cancer cases is expected to rise to 28.4 million, according to Globocan. At the same time, the proportion of cancer treatments using radiation is expected to increase.
Oncosoft plans to use the funds to develop software and expand into overseas markets. In the future, the company aims to create software for all cancer treatments, not just radiation therapy. The idea is to provide an integrated platform for personalized treatment for cancer patients and a next-level cancer treatment solution for medical staff.
