Cancer patients often receive generic treatments based on basic tumour staging, leading to ineffective therapies or severe side effects for those with mismatched biology. MultivisionDx addresses this with an AI spatial biology platform that analyses tumour biopsies to create patient-specific “cancer fingerprints,” predicting treatment responses more accurately than standard methods.
Today, the Helsinki-based startup secured €1M in pre-seed funding, led by Antler, with Helsinki University Funds, Kaikarhenni Oy, and a Finnish angel investor, to develop tests, run validations, build partnerships, and pursue public grants.
The company will use the capital to develop its diagnostic tests, complete validation studies, build partnerships with international hospitals and research groups, and unlock additional public funding for scaling.
Matching patients with better cancer treatments
MultivisionDx spun out from the University of Helsinki in April 2025, founded by cancer researchers, medtech experts, and engineers led by CEO Michael Wittinger, CSO Karolina Punovuori, Fabian Bertillot, Janos Lengyel, and Sara Wickström.
Punovuori tells TFN, “The technology originated from academic research interests. When we developed the image analysis platform and saw the early data showing that we could identify patients at high risk of therapy failure, we realised that this technology could be adapted for clinical use to help guide therapeutic decision-making. The primary motivation for starting the company was to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients using the discoveries that we made in the lab. “
The team started after Wickström’s lab discovered predictive spatial biomarkers, securing €680k Business Finland funding in 2022 to commercialise.
The platform uses computer vision to identify “spatial cancer signatures” from multiplexed biopsy images, integrating biological and tissue-structural features to achieve superior predictions, validated in 650 patients and published in Cell.
Punovuori elaborates, “Our biomarker discovery platform analyses detailed images of tumour biopsy tissue and analyses protein expression, cellular sizes and shapes, spatial cellular arrangements, and microenvironment composition for hundreds of patients at once. We used this information to identify novel cancer signatures that can predict how patients will respond to treatments better than the diagnostic criteria currently used in the clinic”
She adds, “Unlike other image-based tools that use AI to automate manual processes performed by pathologists, our tests provide novel biological information about each patient’s unique tumour that was previously unavailable to the clinician. The information is immediately actionable, as it allows the clinicians to tailor treatment strategies to maximise the chances of therapy efficacy while minimising side effects from unnecessary or ineffective treatments. “
What about diversity? And how is it being female in tech?
When we asked about diversity, Punovuori says, “The founding team represents five different nationalities. Of the five founders, two are female, and four have PhDs. ”
On being a woman in tech, Punovuori comments, “The transition from academia to entrepreneurship has been exciting and challenging, and offered huge opportunities for personal and professional growth. Advice: if you think you have what it takes, you will only find out if you give it a try.”
What’s next?
Wittinger notes, “Over the next 18 months, our goal is to demonstrate that spatial biology can move from research to routine diagnostics – and fundamentally improve how cancer therapy decisions are made.”
Antti Törmänen, Partner at Antler, comments, “It is rare to find a founding team that combines world-class clinical and scientific expertise with the grit and ambition of world-class founders. MultivisionDx has developed a technology that has the potential to completely transform the way cancer is treated around the world and significantly improve patient outcomes in the process.”
