Yemaachi Biotech, a Ghanaian cancer research and diagnostics startup, has raised $3 million in a seed round to further its aim of worldwide precision oncology diversification.
Yemaachi, founded in 2020 by Yaw Bediako, David Hutchful, Joyce Ngoi, and Yaw Attua-Afari, employs cutting-edge immunogenomics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence to speed the development of high-efficacy cancer diagnosis and cure techniques regardless of ethnicity.
Yemaachi has developed a first-of-its-kind pan-African genomic and clinical knowledge base and research platform, which, when combined with deep clinical partnerships across Africa, provides the foundation for innovative products and partnerships to advance new molecular diagnostics and therapeutic targets.
Yemaachi was one of 15 African startups selected for the Y Combinator accelerator’s S21 class last year, and it has now raised a US $3 million seed round. V8 Capital led the round, with participation from LifeLine Family Heritage Fund, Y Combinator, Tencent, LoftyInc Capital, VestedWorld, V Square Capital, and Ethan Perlstein.
“We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of genomic data and understanding. We know genetic outcomes are context dependent, including within the genome. Creating a dataset that has the greatest genomic diversity can enable rapid discoveries that have long-term implications for cancer research, drug development, and patient care, not just in Africa, but globally,” said Yaw Bediako, co-founder and CEO of Yemaachi. “Combined with Yemaachi’s expertise in immunogenomics, bioinformatics, and deep learning, the company’s expansive datasets can be a force multiplier for rapidly accelerating advancements in oncology.”
“The breadth of expertise of Yemaachi’s highly talented founding team, the clinical partnerships they have already formed, and their focus on leveraging the vast untapped resource of African genetic diversity to discover the next generation of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics makes them a very exciting and valuable investment for us,” said Tobi Oke, managing partner at V8 Capital Partners.
Yemaachi was also recently designated a beneficiary of a $1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship, which was granted to Bediako. The fellowship is intended to assist scientists who are attempting to find breakthroughs in critical global health issues.
