The Blue Box Biomedical Solutions Raises €3 Million Seed to Advance AI‑Powered Urine-Based Breast Cancer Screening

Barcelona‑based medtech startup The Blue Box Biomedical Solutions has raised €3 million in a seed funding round to accelerate development of its innovative AI‑powered, urine‑based breast cancer screening test and fund upcoming clinical trials and regulatory activities ahead of planned market entry. The funding will help the company advance its technology through clinical stages and pursue CE marking by the end of 2026, bringing a non‑invasive early detection solution closer to health systems and clinics across Europe.

The Blue Box’s technology aims to address a longstanding gap in breast cancer detection. While mammography remains the standard screening method, it can miss a significant proportion of cases — particularly in women with dense breast tissue — and involves radiation exposure and discomfort. The Blue Box’s platform analyses patterns of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a urine sample using proprietary chemical sensors and machine‑learning algorithms, offering a radiation‑free, pain‑free and scalable alternative to traditional imaging‑based screening methods.

The €3 million seed funding round was led by Unconventional Ventures, a Nordic‑based impact fund focused on backing inclusive innovation and diverse founders. Unconventional Ventures has taken a board seat with The Blue Box, signalling strong alignment with the company’s mission to transform women’s health using disruptive medtech. Other major participants in the round include Fund F, an Austrian venture firm with a focus on female‑founded and impact‑driven healthcare startups, and Grow Ventures, a Barcelona‑based deep‑tech investor supporting high‑impact European science and technology companies.

Mission‑driven private investors also joined the round, including Hans(wo)man Group and the Foss/Krups Family, both of which back early‑stage ventures that aim to deliver measurable social or health impact. The round additionally included participation from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer), whose involvement not only provides capital but also signals clinical and public health validation of the technology’s potential relevance and unmet need.

Several experienced entrepreneurs and business angels who have mentored The Blue Box since its inception also participated in the seed round, including Robert Masse, Torsten Kolind — a noted femtech investor who remains on the company’s board — and Matt Cooper. Their continued commitment underscores confidence in the company’s leadership team and long‑term vision.

The funding will primarily support The Blue Box’s upcoming European clinical trials, which are expected to involve multiple hospitals and clinical partners, as well as the manufacturing of medical‑grade devices, recruitment of trial participants, and development of the technical documentation required for regulatory submissions. This effort is a key step toward achieving CE certification, a regulatory milestone that would clear the way for commercial use within the European Union’s healthcare market.

Founded in 2021 by CEO Judit Giró Benet and COO Lidia Navarro, The Blue Box emerged from research into non‑invasive diagnostics and has shown promising early performance in prototype evaluations. The startup’s approach seeks to detect breast cancer at an earlier stage by capturing subtle metabolic changes that precede clinical symptoms, providing a more accessible and less resource‑intensive option than conventional imaging.

Leaders of The Blue Box have emphasised that improved early detection could dramatically increase survival rates and reduce the burden on healthcare systems, particularly for populations that face barriers to traditional mammography — including younger women, those in underserved regions, or individuals for whom regular imaging is less effective due to breast density.

In statements following the funding announcement, both founders and investors highlighted the transformative potential of the technology, with Unconventional Ventures noting that the solution “represents a true paradigm shift in breast cancer detection” and endorsing the company’s strategic roadmap for clinical validation and market entry.

With clinical trials planned to launch soon and regulatory milestones in sight, The Blue Box is poised to advance its non‑invasive cancer screening platform into broader clinical evaluation and, ultimately, commercial availability. The company’s progress reflects broader trends in applying artificial intelligence and biosensing technologies to early detection challenges in cancer care, aiming to expand access to effective screening tools beyond traditional methods.