A UK healthtech startup just secured a major funding boost that could change how quickly blood cancer is found. 1Spotlight Pathology has raised £1.4 million in seed investment to develop AI software that analyses digital pathology images, helping clinicians identify blood cancers faster and more consistently. With NHS pathology labs stretched thin and patients waiting too long for answers, this funding could not come at a more critical time.
What Spotlight Pathology Is Building
6 Spotlight is building technology to support faster diagnosis of lymphoma and leukaemia, diseases where delayed diagnosis can cost lives. 6 Its platform uses proprietary computer vision models trained on UK hospital datasets to streamline lymph node and bone marrow biopsy diagnostic workflows. The AI does not replace pathologists. Instead, it gives them an extra layer of data when reviewing tissue samples.
As CEO Sam Perona has explained, “People are still very much doing the diagnosis.” 12The software helps generalist professionals figure out which samples to send to a specialist for a diagnosis.
Here is how the platform works in practice:
- A tissue biopsy is digitally scanned
- Spotlight’s AI analyses the image and flags whether the sample may be cancerous
- If cancer is detected, the software identifies the potential subtype
- The pathologist reviews the AI’s findings alongside their own assessment
- 12 This allows them to sit down once with all the information and make the diagnosis, which shortens the time to reach a result.
This single-sitting approach could shave days off a process that currently drags on through multiple rounds of testing and review.
AI powered blood cancer diagnosis tool by Spotlight Pathology UK startup
Who Is Backing the £1.4M Seed Round
The money is coming from a strong group of investors who believe in the company’s mission.
4 The round was co-led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) and the Liverpool City Region Seed Fund, managed by AXM Venture Capital. 4 Other participants include River Capital and follow-on investment from existing backers EHE Ventures, Lyva Labs and Deepbridge.
This is not Spotlight’s first time raising capital. 9The company previously secured a £125,000 investment from Lyva Labs in 2024. It also closed a £425,000 round in early 2025, led by EHE Ventures. 10Before that, the company had already received a £0.9 million Innovate UK grant, which helped it build a significant data bank of blood tissue samples.
The company is also strengthening its leadership. 2Diagnostics industry leader Marcel Gehrung has been introduced as Chair of Spotlight. 31Gehrung holds a PhD in Machine Learning in Healthcare from the University of Cambridge, was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and won the Prix Galien Award for best medical technology through his work at Cyted.
That is a serious addition to the board for a startup at the seed stage.
Why Blood Cancer Diagnosis Takes So Long
Blood cancers are not like a tumour that shows up clearly on a scan. They hide inside bone marrow and lymph nodes. Diagnosing them requires highly trained specialists who are in dangerously short supply.
13 Blood cancers are a significant burden on global health, with an estimated 1.24 million diagnoses, and 720,000 deaths, each year around the world. 9 In the UK alone, around 40,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer every year.
The problem is that there are simply not enough pathologists to keep up with the demand.
13 **Only 3% of pathology departments are fully staffed. 25% of pathologists will retire in the next few years and there are insufficient trainees to replace them.**
13 The pathology workload is increasing by 4.5% each year. 18 Nearly half (47%) of UK pathologists are now aged 50 or over, pointing to a potential wave of retirements in the coming decade.
| Pathology Workforce Crisis | Key Statistic |
|---|---|
| Departments fully staffed | Only 3% |
| Pathologists aged 50+ | 47% |
| Consultants working beyond contracted hours | 60% |
| Pathologists who say staffing is insufficient | 78% |
| Annual workload increase | 4.5% |
18 Almost a quarter (23%) of pathologists have brought forward their retirement plans, most often citing burnout (29%) and work-life balance (31%) as the key reasons.
This creates a dangerous cycle. Overworked staff burn out, retire early, and leave even fewer people behind to handle rising caseloads.
How £1.4M Will Be Spent
3 The seed investment will support the company as it gains additional regulatory approvals and progresses through the first clinical in-use trials.
Sam Perona put it plainly: “This investment gives us the momentum to move from development into real-world clinical settings.”
4 The company is based at UKRI’s Daresbury Laboratory campus in the Liverpool City Region. It is scaling its team from that location while working with NHS partners across the North West and beyond.
The road ahead includes:
- Regulatory clearance: Pursuing UKCA marking for the UK market and preparing for CE and FDA pathways
- Clinical trials: Running in-use pilot programs inside NHS trusts
- Commercial expansion: Targeting NHS trusts, private hospitals, and third-party labs in the UK, Europe and the US
- Team growth: Hiring technical and commercial talent to scale operations
12 One key requirement for potential customers is that their scans must be available in digital form. CEO Perona has noted that while a couple of years ago there was a question of whether departments should digitise, now most sites are either already digitised or on the way.
That trend plays directly into Spotlight’s hands.
The Founders Behind the Mission
8 Spotlight Pathology was spun out of the University of Manchester in January 2020 by Dr Martin Fergie and Prof Richard Byers. 11 Richard Byers is a consultant haematopathologist at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and a Professor in Pathology at The University of Manchester. He brings decades of frontline experience diagnosing blood cancers. 11 Martin Fergie has over 15 years experience developing AI algorithms for image analysis and previously served as Chief Technology Officer at DigitalBridge from 2012 to 2017. 10 Dr Sam Perona joined as CEO in April 2024, following her successful exit of Perfectus Biomed, which she grew from a startup. That track record of building and selling a company is rare at this stage and gives investors confidence.
Together, this is a founding team that combines deep clinical knowledge, AI expertise, and proven business leadership.
Liverpool City Council leader Cllr Liam Robinson called the company “a powerful example of the groundbreaking health innovation emerging from our City Region.” 3He added that this investment represents a commitment to accelerating lifesaving technologies that can make a real difference for people.
Every day a blood cancer diagnosis is delayed, a patient’s treatment options narrow and their chances get worse. With 40,000 new cases hitting the UK every year and a pathology workforce in crisis, AI tools like Spotlight’s are not a luxury. They are becoming a necessity. This £1.4 million seed round may be modest in size, but the problem it aims to solve is enormous. If Spotlight Pathology delivers on its promise, faster and more accurate diagnoses will follow, and lives will be saved because of it. Drop your thoughts in the comments below and let us know what you think about AI stepping into cancer diagnostics.
