Spotlight
Pathology
Daresbury
Product
Funding use
Sector
Amount
Fund
Summary
In 2026 River Capital invested a six-figure sum into Spotlight Pathology as part of a larger £1.125M round– alongside support from Deepbridge Capital and Lyva Labs, EHE Ventures, UKI2S and the AXM managed Liverpool Seed Fund.
The business that was founded by founded by Dr Martin Fergie and Prof. Richard Byers, and led by Dr Sam Perona is building technology to support faster diagnosis of lymphoma and leukaemia – diseases where delayed diagnosis can cost lives. Its platform uses proprietary computer vision models trained on UK hospital datasets to streamline lymph node and bone marrow biopsy diagnostic workflows.
This investment is a major step forward in bringing Spotlights technology to market completing its AI platform development, and launching programs across the UK, Europe, and the US.
Spotlight is addressing a £15B+ global opportunity in cancer diagnostics – and represents one of the few female-led innovations in the AI MedTech space.
“There’s a critical shortage of pathologists, and the stakes are high—delayed diagnosis means delayed treatment. Our platform gives clinicians the tools to confidently streamline diagnostic workflows.”
“This investment is a major step forward in bringing our technology to market and improving the diagnosis of blood cancers”
With this funding, Spotlight will complete its AI platform development, and launch programs across the UK, Europe, and the US.
Dr Sam Perona, CEO Spotlight Pathology
