Cellens Secures $6.5M to Enhance AI-Powered Mechanobiology Platform for Bladder Cancer Diagnostics
Some startups chase hype. Cellens chases biology that feels. With $6.5 million in fresh Series Seed funding led by SOSV, joined by Labcorp Venture Fund, Blackwood Healthcare Breakthroughs, Kolon Industries, Tufts University, the American Cancer Society’s BrightEdge, CANCER FUND Impact Investments, and TiE Boston Angels, they’re not guessing their way through diagnostics. They’re building a platform that can literally feel cancer.
Founded in 2020 out of Tufts University by CEO Phuong Jean Pham and Dr. Igor Sokolov, Cellens translates the physics of disease into data. Their BioFeel™ platform combines atomic force microscopy with machine learning to read nanoscale differences between healthy and cancerous cells from urine samples. No scalpels, no scopes, just precision science that listens to the body’s mechanics instead of its molecules.
In its first prospective study with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Cellens’ test nailed a 100% detection rate for recurrence with an AUC of 88%. Existing molecular assays? They’re hanging around 60–65%. The physics don’t lie, Cellens is seeing what others miss.
Bladder cancer surveillance is a billion-dollar loop of pain and paperwork. Over 800,000 Americans live with it, undergoing repeated cystoscopies that cost the healthcare system $11.6 billion a year by 2030. Cellens aims to replace that invasive routine with a urine-based test that makes precision detection painless. It’s healthcare stripped of theatrics, grounded in measurable truth.
This round’s power is in the partnership. SOSV’s IndieBio knows how to scale deep tech from lab to market. Labcorp Venture Fund brings diagnostic muscle. BrightEdge and CANCER FUND add mission-driven conviction. When those players line up, it’s not a bet, it’s a signal.
Jean Pham built Cellens from classrooms and competitions, turning academic rigor into commercial traction. Dr. Sokolov, a physicist with 200 papers and 22 patents, brings scientific weight to match startup speed. Together, they’re building a diagnostic future where physics leads medicine, and cancer has nowhere left to hide.
The $6.5 million will fund a CLIA-certified lab in Boston, expanded clinical studies with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tufts University, and Emerson Hospital, and continued automation through Cellens’ partnership with Bruker BioAFM. With Tufts University now an equity partner, the circle from discovery to deployment is complete.