Best Oncology Companies in San Francisco, United States
The 146 best Oncology companies in San Francisco, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Nektar.
Our analysis of 50 Oncology companies
$16.3b in tracked funding; 86% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Oncology companies in San Francisco
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Employees | Founder | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nektar Developer of therapeutics to treat multiple diseases | $905M | 27 mo ago | Public | 137 | Rob C Chairman (1999-present) | — | — |
| 2 | ArsenalBio Developer of immune cell therapies for cancer treatment | $631M | 23 mo ago | Series C | 178 178 → 178 (+0%) · sector median +28% | Ken Drazan Co-Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 3 | Allogene Therapeutics Developer of chimeric antigen receptor cell therapy to treat cancer | $532M | 25 mo ago | Public | 303 303 → 215 (-29%) · sector median +28% | David Chang President and Chief Executive Officer | 414 patents Engineering allogeneic CAR‑T cells with immune‑evasion, switch receptors, and dosing technologies | 3 launchs |
| 4 | Lyell Immunopharma Developer of CAR- T therapy for cancer treatment 45Patents top 14%Innovation top 21%Funding top 24%Talent top 28% All 11 signals ▾Patentstop 14% Innovationtop 21% Fundingtop 24% Talenttop 28% Techtop 30% Moatbottom 46% Globalbottom 42% Marketbottom 32% Growthbottom 32% Newsbottom 23% Fin. healthbottom 18% Patents: 163 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 154 filings since 2022 vs 9 in 2017-21 Innovation: 163 patents (top 13% of patent-holders) · 154 filings since 2022 vs 9 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 45/100 | $493M | 10 mo ago | Public | 224 224 → 233 (+4%) · sector median +28% | Stan Riddell Co-Founder | 163 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 5 | Tizona Therapeutics Developer of antibodies to modulate the activity of immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment | $475M | 71 mo ago | Series D | 43 43 → 23 (-47%) · sector median +28% | Christine Muchi O'brien Chief Executive Officer | — | — |
| 6 | BillionToOne 🦄 Provider of cell-free cancer liquid biopsy test | $389M | 24 mo ago | Public | 47 | Oguzhan Atay Co-Founder & CEO | 50 patents cfDNA methylation quantification and sequencing assay quality control for diagnostics | 1 launch · 1 partnership · 1 award |
| 7 | Pionyr Immuntherapeutics Cancer immunotherapies that target the tumour microenvironment to enhance the body’s antitumour immunity | $352M | 71 mo ago | Acquired | 64 | Sachdev Sidhu Co-Founder | — | — |
| 8 | AltruBio Developer of drugs for immune-mediated inflammation and cancer therapies | $288M | 25 mo ago | Series B | 10 | Ron Lin Founder | 32 patents Targeted immunotherapy using anti‑PSGL‑1 antibodies (including tetravalent formats) with JAK inhibitors for inflammatory diseases | — |
| 9 | Terremoto Developer of small-molecule therapeutics for cancer treatment 60Funding top 15%Talent top 28%Moat top 31%Growth top 35% All 7 signals ▾Fundingtop 15% Talenttop 28% Moattop 31% Growthtop 35% Techtop 49% Marketbottom 41% Globalbottom 36% Funding: Raised $250M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 4 yrs (0.8/yr) Talent: 3 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 60/100 | $250M | 2 mo ago | Series C | 35 | Matt Jacobson Co-Founder | — | — |
| 10 | InterVenn Provider of an AI-based clinical decision supporting tool for cancer detection and drug development | $244M | 42 mo ago | Series C | 105 | — | — | — |
| 11 | Asher Biotherapeutics Developer of immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases | $218M | 26 mo ago | Series C | 48 | Ivana Djuretic Founder | 78 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 12 | Circle Pharma Developer of macrocycle therapeutics to treat cancer and other serious illnesses | $208M | 23 mo ago | Series D | 50 50 → 65 (+30%) · sector median +28% | David Earp Jd President and CEO | — | — |
| 13 | rapt Rapt offers media monetization solutions, technology, and strategic advisory services for media companies. | $199M | 48 mo ago | Series C | 122 97 → 124 (+28%) · sector median +28% | — | 18 patents Neurotechnology platforms delivering patterned spatiotemporal stimuli to enhance language-processing neural circuits | — |
| 14 | DICE Developer of small molecule therapeutics for multiple disorders | $192M | 58 mo ago | Acquired | 90 | — | 36 patents Video surveillance analytics and network communication protocol technologies | — |
| 15 | ORIC Pharmaceuticals Developer of small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancers | $173M | 12 mo ago | Public | 86 86 → 135 (+57%) · sector median +28% | — | 229 patents Small-molecule oncology drugs targeting epigenetic regulators, EGFR mutants, CD73, and AKT pathways. | — |
| 16 | Exelixis Developer of small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer | $172M | 65 mo ago | Public | 953 953 → 1,565 (+64%) · sector median +28% | Michael Morrissey President and CEO | 2,552 patents Small-molecule kinase inhibitors targeting cancer signaling pathways | 1 award |
| 17 | Senti Bio Developer of cell and gene therapies for patients living with incurable diseases 45Product top 14%Funding top 21%Talent top 22%Tech top 32% All 11 signals ▾Producttop 14% Fundingtop 21% Talenttop 22% Techtop 32% Innovationtop 34% Newsbottom 43% Moatbottom 43% Growthbottom 39% Globalbottom 39% Marketbottom 32% Fin. healthbottom 20% Product: 4 distinct product lines · Company stage: Public Funding: Raised $158M across 8 rounds · 8 rounds over 8 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 45/100 | $158M | 1 mo ago | Public | 122 | Jim Collins Co-Founder | — | — |
| 18 | Quanta Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for the treatment of cancer | $142M | 37 mo ago | Series D | 29 | Perry Nisen Chief Executive Officer | — | — |
| 19 | Olema Oncology Provider of drug therapeutics for breast cancer treatment | $139M | 18 mo ago | Public | 74 74 → 174 (+135%) · sector median +28% | — | — | 1 job opening |
| 20 | Ossium Health Developer of cell therapy products for blood cancers, tissue damage healing & radiation poisoning | $125M | 22 mo ago | Series C | 87 | Kevin Caldwell Co-Founder & CEO | 81 patents Cryopreservation and processing of bone marrow, stromal, and lymphocyte cells for therapies | — |
| 21 | Ouro Medicines Developer of therapeutics for people living with chronic immune-mediated diseases | $120M | 17 mo ago | Acquired | — | Jaideep Dudani CEO | — | — |
| 22 | Adela Developer of a platform for detection of cancer 57Funding top 22%Moat top 31%Patents top 38%Talent top 38% All 8 signals ▾Fundingtop 22% Moattop 31% Patentstop 38% Talenttop 38% Markettop 46% Innovationtop 49% Globalbottom 40% Newsbottom 22% Funding: Raised $109M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 5 yrs (0.8/yr) Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 8/10 · IP moat: 15 patents rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 57/100 | $109M | 2 mo ago | Series A | 62 | Manish Agarwal Co-Founder | 15 patents Liquid biopsy nucleic acid extraction and sequencing library preparation technologies | 1 job opening · 1 partnership |
| 23 | Ambagon Developer of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer | $103M | 16 mo ago | Series A | 49 | Luc Brunsveld Co-Founder | — | — |
| 24 | Firefly Bio Developer of antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer | $94M | 30 mo ago | Series A | — | John Flygare Co-Founder and CSO | — | — |
| 25 | TEMPEST THERAPEUTICS Developing targeted, immune-mediated oral cancer therapies for broad patient benefit 21Funding top 28%News top 36%Growth top 42%Tech top 49% All 9 signals ▾Fundingtop 28% Newstop 36% Growthtop 42% Techtop 49% Moatbottom 43% Talentbottom 41% Globalbottom 39% Marketbottom 23% Fin. healthbottom 13% Funding: Raised $88.2M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 15 yrs (0.3/yr) News: 19 BI events in 12 mo (of 57 tracked, 7 types) · +6% YoY rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 21/100 | $88M | 2 mo ago | Public | 19 | Stephen B Chief Executive Officer | — | — |
| 26 | TRexBio Developer of therapeutics for immunology and cancer 45Funding top 20%Moat top 31%News top 46%Talent bottom 49% All 6 signals ▾Fundingtop 20% Moattop 31% Newstop 46% Talentbottom 49% Marketbottom 47% Globalbottom 36% Funding: Raised $85.0M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 5 yrs (0.8/yr) Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 8/10 · Soonicorn rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 45/100 | $85M | 4 mo ago | Series B | 65 | Johnston Erwin CEO | — | — |
| 27 | Electra Therapeutics Developer of therapies for immunological diseases and cancer | $84M | 8 mo ago | Series C | 4 | Adam Rosenthal Co-Founder & CEO | — | 1 launch |
| 28 | Faeth Therapeutics Provider of personalized nutritional programs against cancer | $67M | 10 mo ago | Acquired | 9 | Anand Parikh Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 29 | Shasqi Developer of local drug activation technology for tumors | $60M | 21 mo ago | Series B | 8 | — | 5 patents Bioorthogonal chemical reagents for selective in‑vivo labeling and drug delivery | 1 job opening · 1 launch |
| 30 | Shinobi Therapeutics Developer of immune-evasive iPSC-derived cell treatments for various diseases | $60M | 22 mo ago | Series A | — | Shin Kaneko Co-Founder | — | — |
| 31 | CERo Therapeutics Developer of platforms for cellular immunotherapy | $56M | 13 mo ago | Public | 15 15 → 16 (+7%) · sector median +28% | — | — | — |
| 32 | Xcell Biosciences Developer of cell culture analysis device for cancer research | $40M | 18 mo ago | Series B | 11 11 → 17 (+55%) · sector median +28% | — | 30 patents Advanced cell culture bioreactors for tumor microenvironment phenotypic modulation | — |
| 33 | OncoSynergy Developer of resistance mechanism inhibitors to treat cancer 11Funding top 28%Moat top 32%Patents bottom 48%Global bottom 42% All 6 signals ▾Fundingtop 28% Moattop 32% Patentsbottom 48% Globalbottom 42% Innovationbottom 33% Marketbottom 18% Funding: Raised $26.7M across 7 rounds · 7 rounds over 8 yrs (0.9/yr) Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 5/10 · IP moat: 26 patents rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 11/100 | $27M | 1 mo ago | Acquired | 3 | — | 26 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 34 | Siren Biotechnology Developer of gene therapies for cancer treatments | $20M | 26 mo ago | Series B | 8 | Nicole Paulk Founder & CEO | 15 patents AAV gene therapy vector design, production, and CpG-modified viral manufacturing for oncology | — |
| 35 | cTRL Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for solid tumor treatments | $19M | 20 mo ago | Seed | — | Shana Kelley Founder | — | — |
| 36 | Coherence Developer of therapeutic neurotechnology managing cancer from inside the body | $12M | 7 mo ago | Seed | — | Elise Jenkins Co-Founder & CTO | 10 patents Respiratory‑cardiac biofeedback devices measuring arterial pressure waves for health monitoring | 2 job openings · 1 internship |
| 37 | ImmuneBridge Developer of allogeneic cellular medicines to treat cancer | $12M | 14 mo ago | Seed | 4 | Jesse Cotari Co-Founder | 10 patents Patents concentrated in health & consumer products | — |
| 38 | Trellis Bioscience Human antibodies against infectious diseases and cancer | $10M | 14 mo ago | Series C | 6 | Stefan Ryser President & CEO | 170 patents Antibody-based therapeutics and vaccines targeting RSV and influenza viral proteins. | — |
| 39 | Valius Provider of molecular diagnostic testing services for identifying cancer vulnerabilities | $10M | 2 mo ago | Series A | — | Sarah Hesse Co-Founder & Head of Translational Science | — | — |
| 40 | Teal Health Provider of at-home cervical cancer screening kit and consultation | $10M | 15 mo ago | Seed | 6 | Kara Egan CEO | — | — |
| 41 | Granza Bio Developer of therapeutics for the treatment of cancer | $8M | 23 mo ago | Seed | — | Ashwin Nandakumar Co-Founder & CEO | — | 1 award |
| 42 | TippingPoint Biosciences Developer of therapeutics for treating diseases caused by dysfunctional genome chromatin packaging | $7M | 2 mo ago | Seed | — | Geeta Narlikar Co-Founder | — | 1 partnership |
| 43 | Altay Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for chronic liver diseases and cancer | $7M | 17 mo ago | Seed | 7 | Osman Ozes Founder & CSO | — | — |
| 44 | Apeximmune Therapeutics Developer of biologics for cancer and auto-immune disease | $6M | 14 mo ago | Series A | 3 | — | — | — |
| 45 | Flow Pharma Developer of immunotherapy platform for infectious disease prevention and cancer therapy | $4M | 22 mo ago | Seed | 18 | Reid Rubsamen Founder & CEO | — | — |
| 46 | Alessa Therapeutics Developer of localized, sustained drug delivery systems for prostate diseases. | $3M | 14 mo ago | Series A | 13 | Pamela Munster Founder & Director | — | 1 award |
| 47 | Trio Pharmaceuticals Developer of antibody drugs for treating cancer | $2M | 18 mo ago | Seed | 7 | Patrick Doyle CEO | — | — |
| 48 | MicroQuin Developer of therapies for treating multiple diseases | $2M | 13 mo ago | Funding Raised | 4 | Scott Robinson Founder | 13 patents Peptide-based anticancer therapeutics and substituted chalcone small‑molecule drugs | — |
| 49 | GigaMune Developing in vivo cell therapies for cancer and inherited blood disorders | $2M | 14 mo ago | Seed | 3 | David Johnson Founder & CEO | 26 patents Engineering viral vectors and gene‑editing nucleases for therapeutic cell and vaccine development | — |
| 50 | iSono Health Provider of AI-based 3D wearable device for early breast cancer detection | $120K | 8 mo ago | Seed | 10 | Neda Razavi CEO | — | — |
Top 12 Oncology companies in San Francisco
#1
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2016 · 122 employees$158Mraised▾
Developer of cell and gene therapies for patients living with incurable diseases. The company has developed its proprietary synthetic biology platform to produce cell and gene therapies for cancer treatment. The company's pipeline is comprised of cell therapies engineered with Gene Circuits to target difficult to treat liquid and solid tumors. It offers CAR-NK-based therapies for multiple cancer and tumors.
- May 2026Post IPO$40M
- Dec 2024Post IPO$37.6M
- Dec 2024Post IPO$10M
- Jun 2024Grant (prize money)$8M
#2
Series C · San Francisco, California · founded 2021 · 35 employees$250Mraised▾
Developer of small-molecule therapeutics for cancer treatment. It provides a lysine-targeted covalency platform to develop therapies against known drug targets for oncology.
- Apr 2026Series C$108M
- Nov 2023Series B$175M
- May 2022Series A$75M
#3
Series A · San Francisco, California · founded 2021 · 62 employees$108.5Mraised▾
Developer of a platform for detection of cancer. The company has developed a blood test for genome-wide methylation analysis technology to detect kidney cancer and intracranial brain tumors. It allows distinguishing the informative methylated regions of the genome from non-informative regions and targets for sequencing.
- Apr 2026Series A$5M
- Jun 2025Series A$25.4M
- Jul 2023Series A$48.5M
- Jun 2021Series A$60M
#4
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2011 · 19 employees$88.2Mraised▾
Developing targeted, immune-mediated oral cancer therapies for broad patient benefit. This clinical-stage biotechnology company focuses on creating small molecule therapeutics to treat cancer. Their approach involves mechanisms that directly target and kill tumor cells while simultaneously activating the body's own tumor-specific immunity. The company is developing first-in-class oral drug therapeutics with the potential to offer significant advantages to a wide range of cancer patients. They explore both new and validated pathways to discover and develop novel therapeutics. Their pipeline represents innovative approaches to cancer treatment, aiming to improve patient outcomes through targeted and immune-mediated strategies. The company's focus is on oncology drug discovery and development, with the goal of advancing novel therapeutics that will bring meaningful benefit to patients.
- Mar 2026Post IPO$6M
- Mar 2026Post IPO$2M
- Feb 2020Series B$83.2M
- 2015Series A—
#5
Acquired · San Francisco, California · founded 2011 · 3 employees$26.7Mraised▾
Developer of resistance mechanism inhibitors to treat cancer. It targets multiple hallmarks of cancer progression and have demonstrated efficacy as monotherapy and in strategic combinations. The lead drug program OS2966 therapeutic antibody blocking a cell surface receptor for the treatment of glioblastoma, ovarian, pancreatic cancer, and malignant meningioma.
- May 2022Series A$3.5M
- Nov 2020Conventional Debt$250K
- Sep 2020Series A$3.2M
- Jan 2020Grant (prize money)$300K
#6
Series B · San Francisco, California · founded 2019 · 65 employees$85Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for immunology and cancer. The company is developing transformative therapies by using a technology that maps human tissue and manipulates Tregs and other immune cells in a tissue-specific and disease-specific fashion.
- Jan 2026Series B$50M
- Nov 2024Series B$84M
- Mar 2022Series A$26M
- Jun 2021Series A$59M
#7
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2018 · 224 employees$493Mraised▾
Developer of CAR- T therapy for cancer treatment. The lead CAR program LYL797is developed for the treatment of ROR1+ non-small cell lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. Another candidate LYL845 is an autologous TIL therapy for the treatment of multiple solid tumors.
- Jul 2025Post IPO$100M
- Mar 2020Series C$493M
- 2018Seed—
#8
Series C · San Francisco, California · founded 2018 · 4 employees$84Mraised▾
Developer of therapies for immunological diseases and cancer. The company focuses on the development of therapies that target signal regulatory proteins (SIRP) for the treatment of immunological diseases and cancer. The company's lead product ELA026, is a monoclonal antibody to treat secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH).
- Oct 2025Series C$183M
- Dec 2023Series B—
- Feb 2022Series B$84M
#9
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2014 · 86 employees$173.4Mraised▾
Developer of small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancers. The company is focused on the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs that target treatment-resistant cancers which involve glucocorticoid receptor activation. The company's product line include ORC-101 is used for the treatment of solid tumours.
- May 2025Post IPO$125M
- Jan 2024Post IPO$125M
- Jul 2023Post IPO$85M
- Dec 2022Post IPO$25M
#10
Series A · San Francisco, California · founded 2025$10Mraised▾
Provider of molecular diagnostic testing services for identifying cancer vulnerabilities. This service maps tumor biology across DNA, RNA, and protein layers to reveal actionable therapeutic targets. The process utilizes whole genome sequencing, RNA sequencing, and proteomic analysis to assess tumor heterogeneity and resistance mechanisms. Results are integrated into a digital format for review by medical professionals to inform treatment decisions. The analysis compares individual tumor samples against biological datasets to evaluate pathway activation and potential treatment options.
- Mar 2026Series A$10M
#11
Seed · San Francisco, California · founded 2022$7Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for treating diseases caused by dysfunctional genome chromatin packaging. The company's proprietary platform addresses major limitations and challenges seen in the healthcare space by recreating the biological context of cancer-driving chromatin states in a controlled, cell-free environment. It focuses on disrupting or restoring the unique protein-protein and protein-DNA networks that package cell genomes.
- Apr 2026Seed$4.5M
- Seed$2.5M
#12
Acquired · San Francisco, California · founded 2019 · 9 employees$67Mraised▾
Provider of personalized nutritional programs against cancer. The company offers the Faeth program, a precision cancer treatment that uses metabolism to starve cancer cells, depriving and providing resistance to standard treatments. The program includes meals, therapeutics, and on-demand support from Faeth nutritionists.
- Aug 2025Series A$25M
- Jun 2022Series A$47M
- Jan 2022Seed$20M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Oncology coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time falling
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Oncology & Cancer Therapeutics is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Oncology & Cancer Therapeutics — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 12,968 United States-affiliated papers.
- Harvard University573
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center559
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute413
- Johns Hopkins University356
- Cornell University352
- Tumor microenvironment124→1921
- Immune system80→1464
- Immunotherapy66→1342
- Cancer research197→1345
- Cancer immunotherapy35→714
- Tumor microenvironment212→2712
- Immune system142→2161
- Immunotherapy146→1778
- Cancer research238→1815
- Cancer immunotherapy73→718
- Immunotherapy42→624
- Tumor microenvironment65→585
- Immune system31→529
- Cancer immunotherapy27→298
- Cancer research49→277
Where oncology is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing oncology patents in the United States
United States oncology patent filing is accelerating — 2,574 filings from 797 assignees (2016–2025), led by Bristol Myers Squibb, IO Therapeutics, UNIV California; annual filings 108→277.
- Bristol Myers Squibb105
- IO Therapeutics91
- UNIV California88
- DANA Farber Cancer INST87
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer 74
- Baylor College Medicine63
- UNIV Texas61
- Massachusetts INST Technology47