PictorLabs Inc., a digital pathology company developing an AI-powered virtual platform with the goal to accelerate clinical research, announced its launch on Dec. 1 with the completion of a $15.2 million financing round led by M Ventures, SCC Soft Computer and Koç Holding.
Since its founding in 2019 by Chief Executive Aydogan Ozcan and Chief Technology Officer Yair Rivenson, the Sawtelle-based company has raised a total $18.8 million. The firm’s technology applies algorithms to produce stains that are used to highlight important features of tissue as well as to enhance contrast. From a single unstained sample, PictorLabs’ platform can produce an unlimited number of virtual stains that are indistinguishable from chemical stains.
“We’re excited to see PictorLabs advance this next-generation virtual staining technology,” Melih Poyraz, strategy and business development director at Koç Holding, said in a release. “With the leadership of their talented team of seasoned engineers, physicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs, who hold an extensive track record of success in bringing medical technologies to market, we look forward to seeing PictorLabs further develop their novel technology to elevate and accelerate the histopathology workflow.”
According to PictorLabs, current histopathology practices have remained largely unchanged for decades and involve complex chemical-based tissue-staining processes with many challenges, including prolonged result time, tissue-sample limitations, inconsistent quality of results and chemical waste generation, which can complicate and delay research and patient diagnoses.
