Coherence Neuro, a San Francisco-based medical technology startup developing implantable devices for cancer monitoring and treatment, has raised $45 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Founders Fund and the OpenAI Startup Fund.
The round included new investors Lux Capital, 8VC, Timeless, Olive Capital and Ahren. Existing investors Blackbird, Possible, Topology, Artesian, XEIA, Xtal and Divergent also participated. Individual investors included Neuralink neurosurgeons Dr. Matthew MacDougall and Dr. Rory Murphy, alongside Romina Nejad, Chad Byers and Maor Shlomo.
Founded in 2022 by Ben Woodington and Elise Jenkins, Coherence Neuro develops bioelectronic medical devices that combine neurotechnology, artificial intelligence and electrical stimulation to investigate new approaches to cancer treatment. Woodington serves as CEO, while Jenkins is CTO. The co-founders met while conducting research at the University of Cambridge.
The company’s technology is designed to monitor electrical activity in and around tumours, using AI models to analyse biological signals associated with cancer progression. Its approach aims to support continuous disease monitoring and eventually enable treatment systems that adjust electrical stimulation in response to changes in a tumour’s activity.
Coherence Neuro’s flagship SOMA platform is being developed as an implantable brain-computer interface for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The proposed system combines electrical recording and stimulation to support monitoring and potential treatment.
The company began its first human clinical study in June 2026 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. That study uses the investigational CIPHER System during brain tumour surgery to evaluate short-duration electrical recording and stimulation. It is separate from the longer-term implant trial the company plans to pursue.
Coherence Neuro plans to use the Series A proceeds to advance its first long-term human clinical trial in glioblastoma, pursue breakthrough device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration, and expand its preclinical research pipeline into pancreatic cancer and other indications.
The funding will also support recruitment across engineering, scientific research and operations as the company advances its implantable medical-device platform.
The company’s devices remain investigational, and their safety and effectiveness for long-term cancer treatment have not yet been established in human clinical trials.
