A spin-off of Cone Health has closed a Series A funding round that nears $9 million.
Fuse Oncology, a SaaS startup focused on radiation oncology, reports that it has closed an “oversubscribed” Series A funding round. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from April shows that Fuse raised over $8.8 million dollars of a $9.6 million offering from 20 investors.
Investors included Cone Health Ventures and Northeast Georgia Health Ventures from Gainesville, Ga.
The runner-up in this year’s TBJ Inno Madness competition, Fuse Oncology will use the investments to accelerate the expansion of its product, S!GNAL, and develop additional solutions for radiation oncology.
“As we continue to expand our reach throughout 2023, we are grateful for the interest and enthusiasm of investors who understand the significant impact of our product and our potential to thrive in the market,” said James Bauler, CEO. “These key strategic partners trust in our clinician-built technology that will make radiation oncology departments more efficient, supporting substantial growth in volumes and revenues.”
Bauler did not immediately return calls from TBJ for comment on Friday.
In March, Bauler told TBJ that S!GNAL launched at the beginning of 2022, helping the startup to bring in its first revenues. Fuse Oncology has agreements with companies that represent about 17% of the nationwide radiation oncology market and employed 24 people with hopes to grow headcount by 50% in the near term, Bauler said at the time.
Using technology developed at Cone Health’s Radiation Oncology Center of Innovation, Fuse’s core product addresses revenue challenges for radiation oncology departments by automatically identifying and tracking missing documentation, incomplete tasks and orders and wrong charges.
Fuse also hopes that its technology will reduce the time it takes from consultation to treatment from three weeks to one day.
“Fuse has made phenomenal progress in establishing a foothold in the radiation oncology market, so we are confident in leading the funding round to support the company’s growth and help expand the reach of its solutions in additional clinics nationwide,” said John Miller, Cone Health’s chief investment officer.
Fuse was founded in 2021 by Dr. BJ Sintay, who is the executive director of radiation oncology and chief physicist at Cone Health, and David Wiant, Fuse’s chief technology officer. After Bauler took over as CEO in early 2023, Sintay began his tenure as Fuse’s chief innovation officer.
Last May, Fuse raised $3 million after previously receiving an undisclosed investment from Greensboro’s First Launch Capital Fund.
Bauler said that the company is working on a second product with an intended release of later this year or early 2024.
“Fuse’s rapid expansion in local radiation oncology centers has changed the way we’re thinking about the business,” said Dr. Stuart Burri, chairman of radiation oncology of the Levine Cancer Institute, president of the Southeast Radiation Oncology Group and an early investor in the company. “It's exciting to reimagine a seamless workflow and data experience between radiation oncology departments and the health systems, including across various vendor platforms."
