Boost for AI tech companies in the North West as LYVA Labs backs Spotlight Pathology with £125k after Dr Samantha Perona joins as CEO
Liverpool-based LYVA Labs is taking the lead in investing in under-served founders and CEOs. This week, the company backed its fourth female-led business, Spotlight Pathology, with £125k from its Health and Life Sciences pre-seed fund.
LYVA Labs was set up with £11M from Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority as an innovation commercialisation company to turn great ideas into high-growth businesses and quality jobs. LYVA Labs’ funding will enable Spotlight Pathology to accelerate product development and commercialisation.
Spotlight is developing AI tools to support pathologists in making complex blood cancer diagnoses. There is a global shortage of highly trained pathologists, resulting in significant pressures on the system and on pathologists that can lead to delays in diagnosis. CEO Dr Sam Perona recently joined co-founders Dr Martin Fergie and Prof Richard Byers to lead the business to commercial success.
CEO of LYVA Labs, Lorna Green, is dedicated to untapping the potential of ambitious female entrepreneurs. She chairs Liverpool City Region’s new Female Founder Regional HIGH Growth Board, set up as part of the Lifted Project , a data and ecosystem-led approach to increasing the flow of capital to regional, high growth female founders. Dr Sam Perona joined Spotlight Pathology as CEO, after a successful exit from her own business Perfectus Biomed, and has joined the board as a member, role model and mentor for other regional female founders.
More about Spotlight Pathology: Sci-tech Daresbury-based Spotlight Pathology has secured £125,000 investment from LYVA Labs’ Health and Life Sciences Fund. Spotlight was spun out of the University of Manchester in January 2020 by Dr Martin Fergie and Prof Richard Byers and recently re-located to Daresbury. Spotlight has developed AI tools to streamline the diagnosis process for blood cancer representing a $15b global market opportunity. Diagnosis is currently time-consuming due to a shortage of highly trained pathologists; this results in delayed diagnosis, treatment, and poor patient outcomes. Spotlight is already in receipt of a £0.9m Innovate UK grant, which has allowed it to build up a significant data bank of blood tissue samples and to recruit Dr Sam Perona as CEO in April 2024, following her successful exit of Perfectus Biomed, which she grew from a start-up.
Dr Sam Perona, CEO Spotlight Pathology, said: “We are delighted to receive this investment from LYVA labs. The investment process was rapid and straight forward, allowing us to keep a focus on developing the business. This investment will allow us to grow the team and accelerate our ‘Go to Market’ plan. “
Akshay Bhatnagar, Head of Investment, LYVA Labs, said: “LYVA Labs is delighted to back Sam, Martin and Richard in their mission to help reduce the number of people dying from blood cancer by providing the technology to allow more rapid diagnosis which will enable earlier treatment for the condition. We look forward to working with the team and seeing the product come to market over the next 12 months.”
About LYVA Labs: We deliver economic growth in Liverpool City Region through commercialisation of innovation. Inspiring ideas, creating partnerships, and attracting investment. LYVA Labs launched in 2021 with £10.5m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to pursue a vision for our region to be internationally recognised as an open innovation ecosystem with world class resources and talent, delivering solutions to global problems. Our shared ambition is for 5% of Liverpool City Region GVA to be invested in R&D by 2030. We provide tailored innovation consultancy and support to businesses of all sizes and sectors, inspiring collaboration across the ecosystem, exploiting the wealth of innovation assets and helping them secure appropriate funding and investment. We make early-stage investments in key growth technologies and sectors spanning health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing and materials chemistry, deep tech, and clean tech. Our profits are reinvested into helping ideas-rich entrepreneurs and businesses create high value jobs and positive economic and societal impacts.
Learn more at: www.lyvalabs.com
