Onconaut & One Stop Wellness Join Global Wave of Health Innovation Funding | StartUp Health Insights: Week of Sep 2, 2025
From London to Boston to Brisbane, startups secured capital this week to innovate in oncology, heart health, needle-free vaccines, patient communication, vision tests, and more. Among them, StartUp Health community members Onconaut Therapeutics and One Stop Wellness stood out with fresh funding to advance cancer therapies and inclusive food-as-medicine AI.
Dan LaBarbera, PhD, CEO & Founder of Onconaut, and Romy Antoine, CEO & Founder of One Stop Wellness
Two StartUp Health community members made headlines in this week’s funding report. Onconaut Therapeutics earned $2.5M in NIH/NCI support to pursue a novel oncogenic target for metastatic colorectal cancer, while One Stop Wellness raised $1M to launch its culturally relevant AI food scanner designed for underserved communities.
Onconaut Therapeutics, a StartUp Health community member, received $2.5M in funding through a Fast-Track Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI). The grant will support Onconaut in developing a novel oncogenic target for metastatic colorectal cancer and other cancers. <source>
One Stop Wellness, a StartUp Health community member, closed $1M to build health AI for communities often left behind. The latest funding will help launch One Stop Wellness’s AI-powered food scanner designed to recognize and analyze culturally relevant foods commonly eaten in Black and Caribbean communities. It’s part of a broader mission to make health tools inclusive, data-driven, and accessible to those often overlooked in traditional wellness tech. <source>
Other reported global health innovation funding this week included:
Charm Therapeutics, a London, UK-based biotech company that specializes in precision oncology treatments, raised $80M led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and SR One, with participation from OrbiMed, F-Prime, Khosla Ventures, and NVIDIA. <source>
Reprieve Cardiovascular, a Milford, MA-based startup developing intelligent decongestion management therapy for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), raised $61M led by Deerfield Management, with participation from Arboretum Ventures, Lightstone Ventures, Sante Ventures, Genesis Capital, Rex Health Ventures, Cadence Capital, and others. <source>
Vaxxas, a Brisbane, Australia-based biotech company pioneering a high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) for needle-free vaccine delivery, raised A$90M ($58.7M) led by SPRIM Global Investments, with participation from LGT Crestone, OneVentures, and Brandon Capital-Hostplus. <source>
Assort Health, a San Francisco, CA-based startup that uses AI to automate patient communication for specialty healthcare practices, raised $50M led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. <source>
Mid-Atlantic Biotherapeutics, a Doylestown, PA-based biotech company developing therapies for neurological disorders, received up to $50M from Legend Innovation Life Science Fund. <source>
Cyted Health, a Cambridge, UK-based gastrointestinal molecular diagnostics company, raised $44M led by EQT Life Sciences. <source>
Sensorium Therapeutics, a Boston, MA-based AI-powered neuroscience therapeutics company, raised $25M from Mockingbird Capital Partners, Mission BioCapital, Hatteras Venture Partners, and Dolby Family Ventures. <source>
Eyebot, a Boston, MA-based company behind a 90-second vision test kiosk that delivers doctor-verified glasses prescriptions, raised $20M led by General Catalyst, with participation from AlleyCorp, Baukunst, Village Global, and Ubiquity Ventures. <source>
Axenya, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based health tech company specializing in corporate healthcare, raised BRL 65M ($12M) led by Canary, co-led by Indicator Capital, and joined by Zentynel. <source>
Sarborg, a Wilmington, DE-based company that integrates AI-agents, mathematical algorithm-based approaches, cybernetics, and extensive neural networks to optimize decision-making processes in pharmaceuticals, raised $10M led by Corvus Capital. <source>
Therna Biosciences, a San Francisco, CA-based company that leverages AI and machine learning to design RNA-based medicines, raised $10M from AIX Ventures, Pear VC, and Fusion Fund. <source>
Welcome Tech, a Los Angeles, CA-based AI-powered engagement platform that connects immigrant workforces to services such as healthcare, raised $7.5M from TTV Capital, CityRock Ventures Partners, Mubadala Capital, Next Legacy Partners, BTN Ventures, and Westbound Equity Partners. <source>
ALIGNMT AI, a New York, NY-based provider of an AI compliance platform for healthcare, raised $6.5M led by AIX Ventures, with participation from Sancus Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Dent Capital. <source>
Sleep.ai, a Carlsbad, CA- and Dublin, Ireland-based developer of AI-powered solutions in sleep health, raised $5.5M led by Treasure Coast Ventures, with participation from Nurture Ventures, the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, Supermoon Capital, and other investors. <source>
Data is from StartUp Health Insights, the most comprehensive funding database for health innovation. Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.
Published: Sep 2, 2025
By Nicole Kinsey
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