Waiv: A new generation of AI-native precision diagnostics

We are pleased to announce OTB Ventures’ investment in Waiv’s $33 million Series A round, which we co-led alongside Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), with participation from Serena Data Ventures, Karista, and SistaFund.    

Waiv is Redefining Precision Oncology for the AI Era

Waiv is a Paris-based company building the next generation of cancer diagnostics using artificial intelligence. Today, when doctors diagnose cancer, they often examine tissue samples under the microscope to understand the tumor and guide treatment decisions. Due to technological advancements, these samples are now able to be digitized into extremely detailed pathology images containing millions of cells and a vast amount of biological information. Waiv’s AI analyzes these images, to identify patterns that help predict how a cancer will behave and which treatments are most likely to work. As a result, many insights that normally require complex and expensive molecular tests can be obtained directly from routine pathology slides that hospitals and labs already generate every day, enabling faster and more scalable precision medicine.      

A Founding Team Building on Decades of Experience from Pioneers of AI in Healthcare

Waiv is led by Meriem Sefta and Lionel Guillou and emerges as a spin-out from Owkin, one of the pioneers of AI in healthcare.

The team previously developed advanced AI models within Owkin’s diagnostic business unit and has nearly a decade of experience building AI systems trained on large clinical datasets. Their combined expertise in oncology, AI and clinical deployment allows them to translate cutting-edge research into real commercial diagnostic solutions used in hospitals.

AI-Native Precision Testing

Waiv has built an end-to-end AI platform designed to develop and deploy clinically validated diagnostic tests.

Three elements define its technological approach:

1. Foundation Models for Pathology

Waiv has developed large AI models trained on extensive pathology datasets that can detect subtle biological patterns in tumor tissue that are often invisible to the human eye. These models allow clinically relevant signals to be extracted directly from routine pathology images.

2. Multimodal Clinical Analysis

The platform integrates pathology images with other types of patient data, such as molecular and clinical data, to generate predictive insights on biomarkers, relapse risk, and treatment response. This multimodal approach allows the models to capture the complex biological signals that drive cancer progression and therapy response.

3. Seamless Integration via Destra

Through Destra, its interoperable digital pathology platform, laboratories and pathologists can run Waiv’s AI tests directly within their existing diagnostic workflows, enabling adoption without changes to laboratory infrastructure.

The models are trained on large, diverse clinical datasets, including those generated through the PortrAIt consortium, helping ensure reliability across hospitals and patient populations.

Commercial Traction and Real-World Validation

Waiv’s technology is already being used in clinical settings with the aim of supporting therapeutic decision making.

Its AI-powered tests including RlapsRisk BC, which predicts risk of relapse in breast cancer supporting clinicians to better identify which patients may benefit from specific therapies or potentially avoid     unnecessary treatments. The company also collaborates with global pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca and MSD to support biomarker detection from digital pathology slides and improve patient identification for specific targeted therapeutics. These partnerships demonstrate both the scientific credibility of Waiv’s platform and its potential to become a core diagnostic infrastructure layer for precision oncology.

Strategic Outlook

The capital raised in this round will support the expansion of Waiv’s portfolio of AI-powered diagnostic tests, deepen collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and other industry players, and accelerate global deployment across hospitals and laboratories.

As oncology becomes increasingly data-driven, Waiv is building the infrastructure that will allow AI-based diagnostics to become a standard part of clinical practice.

With strong scientific foundations, validated clinical applications, and access to one of Europe’s largest oncology datasets, Waiv is positioning itself as a key technology platform for the next generation of precision medicine.

Full press release: https://lnkd.in/eFvDZehw