Pathos AI

New York oncology company that in-licenses drugs and uses a multimodal foundation model to develop them; ~$467M raised.

1. Core Product / Service

Pathos was incorporated in 2020 according to its Form D filings; its website says it was founded in 2022 [1]. It was co-founded by Tempus founder Eric Lefkofsky. Pathos does not discover molecules from scratch. It in-licenses or acquires oncology assets and uses its Foundry platform, a multimodal oncology foundation model trained on clinical text, omics and imaging and run with "thousands of AI agents", to choose assets, design trials and select patients [4][5]. Its CEO has put it plainly: "The bottleneck in oncology is not finding molecules" [5].

Pipeline (Oct 2026), all in-licensed or acquired [3][4][5][6]:

• Pocenbrodib (CBP/p300 inhibitor; licensed from Forma/Novo Nordisk in 2023): Phase 1b/2a in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, plus a myeloma Phase 1b. No efficacy readout found yet.
• JSKN016 (TROP2/HER3 bispecific ADC; licensed from Alphamab in Aug 2026, $125M upfront and up to ~$2.09B in milestones, ex-Greater China rights): already in Phase 3 in China.
• DO-2 (deuterated MET inhibitor; from the 2026 majority stake in DeuterOncology): Phase 1.
• AZD4241 (oral ER PROTAC; co-exclusive with AstraZeneca): preclinical.
• The PRMT5 asset licensed from Prelude was handed back in Q1 2026, per Prelude's 10-Q, although some Aug 2026 coverage still lists it [6].

Wet lab. Pathos runs a small translational laboratory in Manhattan (Alexandria Center for Life Science). A June 2026 job post describes ex vivo assays on primary tumour samples with "medium-to-high-throughput drug screens" (Incucyte, qPCR, Western blot, immunostaining), with Benchling as the LIMS [7]. Lab size and total headcount are not disclosed. CMC for small molecules and ADCs is managed through CDMOs/CMOs, overseen by in-house CMC directors; vendors are not named [7].

2. Target Users & Pain Points

• Patients / own pipeline: prostate cancer, myeloma, breast and lung cancers.
• Data partners: Tempus and AstraZeneca co-develop the oncology foundation model with Pathos.
• Pain addressed: most oncology assets fail in development, not discovery. Pathos bets that better asset selection, trial design and patient selection matter more than new chemistry.

3. Competitive Landscape

4. Unique Observations

• The model costs more than it earns so far. Under the 2025 three-way deal, Pathos pays Tempus $200M over three years for data licences (up to half payable in stock) and covers the first $60M of compute. Tempus pays Pathos $35M for development work [2]. The foundation model is a cost centre that the pipeline has to justify.
• The asset list keeps changing. Milademetan (from the Rain Oncology acquisition) and the Prelude PRMT5 asset both left the pipeline within about two years, while new assets came from China (Alphamab) and Belgium [5][6]. That turnover is consistent with an in-licensing model.
• Valuation has run ahead of clinical data. Post-money valuation went from $600M (Series C, 2024) to ~$1.6B (Series D, 2025), and a reported ~$3B target for the 2026 round, with no efficacy readout yet [3][4].

5. Financials / Funding

• Early round $20M (2023) from Lightbank, Builders VC and Revolution Growth [1].
• Series C $62M (Oct 2024), led by NEA, $600M post-money [4].
• Series D $365M announced (2025, ~$1.6B post-money). The Form D shows $283M sold; investors include AstraZeneca [1][2][3].
• A Series E of up to $300M was reported in Aug 2026 at a ~$3B valuation; this is single-source and not closed.
• Cumulative ≈ $467M (PitchBook via trade press). Tempus holds a warrant for ~15% of the company [2].

6. People & Relationships

• Co-founders: Eric Lefkofsky (Executive Chair; Tempus founder/CEO) and Ryan Fukushima (Tempus executive) [2].
• CEO: Iker Huerga (since May 2025; ex-Tempus EVP, ex-AstraZeneca oncology data science) [2].
• Chief scientist Eric Schadt was reported in Aug 2026 to be leaving [5].
• Partners: Tempus, AstraZeneca, Alphamab, Novo Nordisk (licensor). Investors: NEA, Lightbank, Revolution Growth, Builders VC.

Sources

• [1] Pathos AI Form D filings (2023, 2024, 2025), SEC EDGAR (2026-10-14)
• [2] Tempus AI Form 10-K FY2025, related-party and Pathos agreement notes, SEC EDGAR (2026-10-14)
• [3] Fierce Biotech, "Pathos AI secures $365M Series D" (2026-10-14)
• [4] pharmaphorum, "Pathos AI signs two cancer deals with Alphamab and AZ" (2026-10-14)
• [5] MedCity News, Pathos AI agents and Alphamab/AZ deals (Aug 2026; accessed 2026-10-14)
• [6] Prelude Therapeutics Form 10-Q Q2 2026, SEC EDGAR (2026-10-14)
• [7] Pathos AI Research Associate II job posting (June 2026; accessed 2026-10-14)