Battlefield startup Spotit uses early-trained dogs and AI technologies to detect common cancers

Developing universal screening to detect cancer in its early stages is the key to saving the most lives.

Although MCED tests are still under research and lack FDA approval, many are commercially available to consumers who are willing to pay out of pocket. Individuals can ask their doctor to order Gallery Grail blood test, or they can choose Whole-body MRI From companies like Prenuvo or Ezra, which often cost $2,000 or more.

Soon, consumers will have another — and unique — way to screen for multiple types of cancer.

SpotitEarlya biotechnology company that is part of The emerging battlefield in TechCrunch disabled 2025Amazon is developing a home cancer test that analyzes human breath using dogs’ exceptional sense of smell combined with artificial intelligence.

SpotitEarly CEO Shlomi Madar told TechCrunch that the science is becoming increasingly clear: dogs can be trained to smell diseases, especially cancer, in humans. “There are also ad hoc reports from people stating that their companion dogs sensed something was wrong with them before they were diagnosed,” he said.

Drawing on his 15 years of experience as a health and biotechnology leader, Madar joined forces with three friends – one of whom is a former K9 unit commander – to develop a reliable method and technology for cancer screening by analyzing breath samples.

Users can be screened for cancer by simply collecting a breath sample at home and shipping it to a SpotitEarly lab. The company employs 18 beagles trained to detect cancer-specific scents. Dogs are taught to sit if they smell cancer particles, and SpotitEarly’s AI platform validates the dogs’ behavior.

“We have cameras on top of the lab. We have a microphone that picks up the dogs’ breathing patterns. We also monitor their heart rates. So the machine learning knows the baseline for the entire group of dogs,” Madar said. “That makes it more accurate than just a handler looking at a dog.”

Company research published in Nature Scientific ReportsIt showed that its trained dogs could detect early cancer in breath samples with up to 94% accuracy. This double-blind clinical study, which included 1,400 individuals, focused on examining the four most common cancers: breast, colorectal, prostate, and lung.

SpotitEarly, which was founded in Israel in 2020, announced in May its launch in the US market with $20.3 million in funding from Hanaco VC, Menomedin VC, Jeff Swartz (former CEO of Timberland), and Avishai Ebrahimi (CEO of Wix.com).

The company plans to use the capital to significantly expand its clinical studies, starting with individual tests for breast cancer before moving on to the other three targeted cancers.

SpotitEarly’s home screening tools should be available to consumers through the doctor network next year, Madar said. One cancer test would cost about $250, he said, and each additional cancer screening would cost a fraction of the first test. To prioritize accessibility, the company aims to price its anti-cancer panel below the cost of competitors such as Grail’s Galleri test, which is typically priced around $950.

As for the dogs, Madar said they are part of the team. Madar said all employees at the company must be “dog lovers.” “We don’t just use them as biosensors. They have a lot of room to play. They’re great sneakers, great workers, but they’re also great companions.”

If you want to learn from SpotitEarly first-hand, experience dozens of additional presentations, attend valuable workshops, and make connections that drive business results, Head here to learn more about this year’s DisruptScheduled for October 27-29 in San Francisco.