Why We’re Doubling Down on Pathos — and the Practical Application of AI in Healthcare
Revolution Growth Founding Partner Ted Leonsis shares why we were excited to participate in the company’s latest funding.
Great companies often spring from a simple question: “How do we make something fundamental work better for the people who need it most?” For Pathos, that “something” is healthcare, and more specifically, drug development — a process that, on average, takes a decade-plus, costs billions, and fails often. Generic AI tools chip away at the edges, but the Pathos team believes real impact comes from domain-specific models that combine proprietary data, clinical know-how, and purpose-built algorithms. That’s the verticalization of AI in practice, and why Revolution Growth planted an early flag in the company last year.
When we participated in the company’s Series C, three things sealed the deal:
- Proven entrepreneurs: Co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Ryan Fukushima had already shown how data and AI could rewrite clinical workflows at Tempus.
- A differentiated data advantage: PathOS™, the company’s causal-AI engine, draws on more than 200 petabytes of real-world oncology and genomic data — granularity you won’t find in any off-the-shelf cloud dataset.
- A more efficient model: By acquiring Phase II-ready assets, Pathos can apply its insights where most drugs stumble, rescue high-potential compounds, and out-license therapies after de-risking them.
Pathos embodies the type of “practical AI” play we love: a team that knows the domain, owns proprietary data, and points the algorithms towards tangible progress.
Progress Since Our First Check
Since October, the company has begun first-patient dosing in its Pocenbrodib program and added seasoned pharma and AI talent to its leadership team — including newly appointed CEO Iker Huerga. Iker spent the past two decades at the intersection of AI and oncology, most recently as Chief Data Scientist for Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca and, before that, EVP at Tempus. He’s also a repeat biotech founder with two exits under his belt. In short, he knows both the science and the startup grind.
A Three-Way Alliance That Changes the Game
Pathos recently announced a multi-year agreement with Tempus and AstraZeneca to co-develop the largest multimodal foundation model in oncology. Here’s why that’s huge news:
- Unparalleled data access: Tempus’s de-identified oncology dataset provides breadth and depth no other biotech offers.
- Shared platform, unique angles: Tempus licenses its data to reveal unique patterns and insights, Pathos applies the model to spot and advance promising treatments, and AstraZeneca benefits from sped up drug development.
- Built-in validation: A top-five pharma company and the leader in precision medicine data don’t lend their brands lightly — this is a strong vote of confidence in Pathos’s roadmap.
This partnership takes the data advantage we were already excited about and supercharges it. Momentum matters; Pathos has it in spades.
Continued Conviction
I’ve learned that winning companies solve real problems for real people. Pathos is one of them — creating a higher probability of clinical trial success, accelerating the development of tailored therapies for patients in need, and facilitating healthcare’s next leap forward.
When vertical integration meets deep domain expertise meets teams that can execute, AI stops being hype and starts transforming industries. Pathos has all the ingredients, and we’re excited to continue to partner with the team.
— Ted
Why We’re Doubling Down on Pathos — and the Practical Application of AI in Healthcare was originally published in Revolution on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.