Function Oncology funding, valuation and investors

Overview

Function Oncology is a San Diego precision medicine company launched in April 2023. It uses a CRISPR-enabled platform to measure gene function directly in a patient's cancer cells, rather than relying solely on next-generation sequencing. The goal is twofold: help physicians identify therapeutic vulnerabilities for individual patients today, and generate target discovery data for the next generation of oncology drugs. Co-founders Srinath and Srihari Sampath are physician-scientist twins; CEO Srinath Sampath previously worked at Flatiron Health. The company raised a $28M Series A co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Section 32.

Why Function Oncology is interesting

Function moves precision oncology from static mutation lists to live functional profiling in patient tumor cells — the kind of assay gap that explains why many 'actionable' variants still miss in clinic. a16z co-led the $28M Series A alongside Section 32 with Flatiron/Thrive/FMI alumni at the helm.

Product & use cases

Function Oncology runs CRISPR-based functional genomics on patient tumor samples to identify which genes, when disrupted, change cancer cell behavior. The platform complements standard sequencing by testing whether targets are actually vulnerable in a specific patient's cells — data meant to guide therapy selection and inform drug development.

• Matching advanced cancer patients to targeted therapies based on functional—not just sequenced—vulnerabilities
• Drug target validation for pharma partners using patient-derived functional data
• Identifying resistance mechanisms when standard genomics panels return inconclusive results

Key facts

• Launched April 2023 with $28M Series A co-led by a16z and Section 32 (BusinessWire)
• Co-founders Srinath and Srihari Sampath are physician-scientist twins; CEO Srinath Sampath joined from Flatiron Health
• Board/advisor bench includes Vineeta Agarwala (a16z GP, ex-Flatiron) and Mike Pellini (Section 32, ex-Foundation Medicine CEO)
• Platform aims to profile drug-target vulnerabilities directly in patient tumor samples, beyond NGS alone

Funding history (newest first)

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Function Oncology's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Competitive landscape

Edge: Function's CRISPR functional profiling measures what genes actually do in a patient's tumor cells, closing the gap between genomic 'actionability' and clinical response. Leadership combines oncology product experience from Flatiron, Thrive Earlier Detection, and Foundation Medicine.

The precision oncology market is crowded with sequencing panels, but response rates to matched therapies remain modest because sequence alone does not prove a target is essential in a given tumor. Function bets CRISPR perturbation in patient samples can improve match quality. It competes with entrenched NGS incumbents on distribution and clinical validation timelines, not on read depth.

• Foundation Medicine incumbent

  Dominant commercial NGS testing franchise (Roche-owned); strong on mutation reporting but does not perform CRISPR functional profiling at the cell level.

• Tempus adjacent

  Large oncology data and sequencing platform; broader real-world-data footprint but different core assay modality than Function's functional genomics.

• DepMap (Broad Institute) adjacent

  Public functional-genomics resource for cell lines; valuable for research but not a commercial patient-matching service like Function.

Notable stories

• CEO Srinath Sampath told BioCentury he was inspired to start Function by the 'outliers' in Phase I/II cancer trial waterfall plots — patients who respond dramatically when most do not — and wanted an assay that could predict those responders before treatment.
• The Sampath twins co-founded Function after careers spanning clinical medicine and oncology data; their launch press positioned the company as moving 'beyond measuring gene sequence to measuring gene function.'

Industries