Melbourne Uni spin-out PredicTx Health, an AI-powered oncology platform, raises $1.6 million pre-Seed

PredicTx Health, a University of Melbourne spin-out that uses AI to personalise chemo dosing based on body composition analysis, has raised $1.6 million.

The funding came from the University’s Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, a government grant and angel investment and will be used to commercialise a world-first AI-powered precision oncology platform.

PredicTx was cofounded Professor Justin Yeung (head of surgery, Western Health) and Abhijeet Waykar (founder of global health-integration startup Lenia Health), using Melbourne uni research.

The project is supported by Western Health, where the first clinical validation studies will be held.

Abhijeet Waykar said the investment from Genesis is the University of Melbourne’s endorsement of the commercial viability and global potential of PredicTx’s technology, which uses CT scans and machine learning to analyse a patient’s muscle and bone composition, allowing clinicians to personalise chemotherapy doses rather than relying on the current one-size-fits-all “body surface area” method.

“This raise gives us the momentum to move from research into real-world clinical impact. Our immediate focus is on validating the technology with oncologists and cancer centres in Australia and India, before scaling internationally,” he said.

“The next 12-18 months will be about product readiness, regulatory pathways, and getting PredicTx into the hands of clinicians who need it most.”

Waykar said chemotherapy dosing is one of oncology’s long-standing blind spots underdosing can reduce treatment effectiveness, while overdosing causes toxicity and hospital readmissions. PredicTx’s AI brings together radiomics, clinical data, and predictive modelling to help oncologists find the optimal dose for each patient.

“The funding allows us to complete clinical validation with Western Health, strengthen our AI model’s generalisability across diverse patient populations, and prepare for TGA and CE submissions,” he said.

“We’ll also be expanding the team, both in AI engineering and clinical operations to accelerate deployment.”

Waykar said the launch of PredicTx demonstrates how universities, hospitals, and startup founders can co-create world-changing innovation.

“The Genesis team have been incredible, they don’t just fund companies, they stay in the trenches with you,” he said.

“Their belief in University of Melbourne born innovation and our mission to make cancer care more precise has been the backbone of our journey.”