Digital pathology startup Proscia announces $23M Series B and plans for growth

Six-year-old digital pathology startup Proscia, which moved from its original HQ in Baltimore to Philadelphia two years ago in search of talent, sees some plans for growth after announcing it raised a Series B Tuesday.

The $23 million round was led by Scale Venture Partners with participation from Hitachi Ventures and brings the startup’s total fundraising up to $35 million, after closing a Series A in 2018 and a seed round in 2016.

The company said it plans to use the funds to meet a growing demand for digital pathology across research and diagnostics, including in cancer research. Its signature product, the Concentriq software platform, integrates with the technologies of anatomic pathology labs and offers a launching point for AI applications within a lab.

“Digitization has swept through almost every domain of healthcare, and we are now seeing its revolutionary impact on pathology,” said Alexander Niehenke, partner at Scale Venture Partners, in a statement. “Proscia is a high-growth company with a unique platform-plus-AI approach that is enabling it to capitalize on a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity. We’re excited to be a part of Proscia’s success as it expands its leadership position in pathology’s shift from analog to digital.”

The company plans to accelerate its commercial expansion and grow its sales, marketing and support teams. A company spokesperson told Technical.ly that the Philly-based team is currently around 40 people with plans to expand to about 70 by the end of next year.

Digital pathology has become more sought out for labs to be able to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as digitization is often the only means by which they can continue to serve their patients. Proscia also recently established a Computational Pathology Center of Excellence with the Netherlands’ University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, which it says is one of the first orgs to implement digital pathology.

“We are excited for this next milestone in our journey,” said David West, Proscia CEO. “Over the past few years, we have battle tested Concentriq at leading organizations and demonstrated the unprecedented potential of AI. In welcoming Scale Venture Partners and Hitachi Ventures to the Proscia team, we are better positioned than ever before to drive a transformation that will impact millions of cancer patients and their families.”