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Three Questions for Oncology Ventures’ Ben Freeberg
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By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
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Good day. When Ben Freeberg was 24, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread throughout his body, up to his neck. The experience was terrible, said Freeberg, adding that he underwent chemotherapy and took 37 medicines a day. Now 29 and cancer-free, Freeberg is founder and managing partner of New York-based Oncology Ventures, a cancer-focused venture firm he launched in January after gaining experience with venture investors Optum Ventures and Alpha Partners. Oncology Ventures’ investments include Gabbi, a startup targeting early detection of breast cancer. We spoke with Freeberg about his firm, which has raised an undisclosed amount for its
first fund. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
WSJ Pro: What is the strategy of Oncology Ventures?
Freeberg: The thesis for the fund is: we are investing in data startups that enable more affordable and efficient cancer care. There is a lot of funding going into the biotechnology side of cancer. We’re saying, let’s be laser-focused on the data and infrastructure side. The actual ability to commercialize innovation, and getting it in the hands of patients, is incredibly lacking.
WSJ Pro: Oncology Ventures recently disclosed partnerships with a cancer treatment and research center, City of Hope, and New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, a cancer-treatment practice. How do these collaborations work, and how do they help the firm?
Freeberg: Whenever a cancer startup approaches them about a partnership, they come to us. We’re acting as an on-demand oncology consultant for them. We leverage them when we’re doing diligence. And then we report to their C-suite to report the latest of what is going on in the cancer world.
WSJ Pro: For startups, what is the benefit of having a cancer specialist such as Oncology Ventures as an investor?
Freeberg: From our earliest conversations with startups they feel heard and understood. Cancer startups don’t just need an introduction to a health plan. They need to get the right person who actually makes oncology decisions. We’re making sure startups [are] getting in the door.
And now on to the news ...
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Efforts to automate parts of the coding process, which can be tedious and time-consuming, have been under way for years. They received a boost thanks to the growing scale and accuracy of generative AI models. PHOTO: CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AI coding. Generative AI coding tools promise huge efficiency gains for developers, but some tech leaders fear the consequences of spawning too much code too fast, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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IT leaders at United Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, Cardinal Health, Goldman Sachs and other companies say they are excited about generative AI’s potential to automate certain parts of the code-writing process and expect it to result in significant productivity gains.
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However, some IT executives say that lowering the barrier for code creation could also result in growing levels of complexity, technical debt and confusion as they try to manage a ballooning pile of software. “Technical debt” is a broad term describing the expected future costs of applying quick-fix solutions.
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$700 Million
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L Catterton has raised about a third of the $700 million that the consumer products and services investor is seeking for its fourth private-equity fund dedicated to Latin America, WSJ Pro reports.
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Pro Take: Semiconductor Startup Targets Wasteful Power Usage
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A semiconductor startup says it developed a new way to curb wasteful power conversion, a growing global problem as the demand for electricity rises in sectors such as transportation, cloud computing and AI, CIO Journal reports. iDEAL Semiconductor Devices has developed a new kind of higher efficiency power chip, a component used in virtually all electronics, from solar panels and household appliances to servers in data centers, electric vehicles and industrial equipment. iDEAL’s chips use silicon, a material some scientists and engineers believe has neared the limits of its power efficiency. iDEAL said its investors include the investing arm of Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor equipment,
services and software company Applied Materials, as well as a number of family offices. It has raised a total of $75 million. The company, mindful of the potential for disruption in Asia, has worked to develop a North American supply chain.
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A Chatbot Was Designed to Help Prevent Eating Disorders. Then It Gave Dieting Tips.
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A chatbot designed to aid people seeking help for eating disorders and body issues has been taken offline after it provided some users with diet advice, WSJ reports. The bot, named Tessa, operated on the website for the National Eating Disorders Association, and was meant to provide help for website users thought to be at risk for developing an eating disorder. The bot became an online sensation in recent days after social-media posts surfaced showing Tessa giving weight-loss advice. NEDA took it down Tuesday, and leaders say they are investigating what happened. The episode comes at a moment when eating disorders are on the rise, weight-loss drugs are roiling the diet industry and chatbots, along with
full-fledged AI assistants, stand to change the way we get healthcare and information.
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People
ServiceTitan, a cloud-based software platform built to power trades businesses, appointed Dave Sherry as chief financial officer. He was most recently CFO at QuintoAndar.
Exits
Swiss life-sciences company Lonza Group will acquire Dutch biotech firm Synaffix for €100 million (about $106.9 million) in cash, along with an additional payment of up to €60 million based on performance.
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Lightmatter, a Boston-based developer of photonic processors for large-scale computing, secured $154 million in Series C funding from investors including GV.
Measurabl, a San Diego-based environmental, social and governance technology platform for real estate, closed a $93 million Series D round co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Sway Ventures.
GetYourGuide, a Berlin-based platform for discovering and booking travel experiences, raised $85 million in Series F funding led by Blue Pool Capital, along with $109 million in debt.
Red 6, a developer of augmented reality technology for military training and the entertainment industry, completed a $70 million Series B round led by RedBird Capital Partners.
Magic, a San Francisco-based Web3 wallet creation and onboarding startup, snagged a $52 million strategic funding round led by PayPal Ventures.
Swing Education, an online staffing marketplace that connects substitute teachers with schools, landed $38 million in Series C funding. Funds advised by Apax Partners and Reach Capital co-led the round.
Sana, a Stockholm-based AI-powered learning platform for companies, added $28 million in Series B funding led by New Enterprise Associates, bringing the round total to $62 million. NEA will be represented on Sana's board by Chief Executive Scott Sandell and Managing Director Philip Chopin.
MindsDB, an artificial intelligence logic cloud platform, added a $25 million new funding led by Mayfield.
Hyro, a New York-based plug-and-play conversational artificial intelligence provider, picked up a $20 million Series B round led by Macquarie Capital. Dan Phillips, executive director at Macquarie Capital's venture group, joined the company’s board.
Neat Burger, a plant-based food startup currently operating restaurants in the U.K., New York and Dubai, secured $18 million in Series B financing led by B-Flexion.
LTZ Therapeutics, an immunotherapy-focused biotech startup, raised more than $10 million in pre-A+ financing led by Qiming Venture Partners. The company’s main operations are in Redwood City, Calif., and China.
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The Apple savings account is a way for the company to expand the iPhone further into people’s daily financial interactions. PHOTO: KATHY WILLENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Apple customers say it’s hard to get money out of Goldman Sachs savings accounts
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Twitter to face stress test this month, top EU tech regulator says
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Mark Zuckerberg unveils Meta’s newest VR headset days ahead of Apple event
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Elon Musk’s warm welcome in China reflects Tesla’s role in building top EV market
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Nvidia is still a ‘buy’ on Wall Street
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Twitter’s top content moderation and safety executive leaves
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Editor’s Note: Each week, we will share selections from WSJ Pro that provide insight and analysis we hope are useful to you. The stories are unlocked for The Wall Street Journal’s subscribers.
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Board directors are playing an important role in cybersecurity. Michael Montoya from Equinix and Friso van der Oord from the National Association of Corporate Directors offer a workshop session to reinforce cyber knowledge for these executives.
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Has China’s slow postpandemic reopening changed the country’s outlook? Economics professor Keyu Jin and Zak Dychtwald, founder of Young China Group, discuss at WSJ’s CEO Council event in London.
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New truck-emissions regulations in California have drawn a clutch of startups that are racing to build electric-vehicle charging stations and cash in on the state’s drive to electrify truck fleets.
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