Breast imaging startup BeSound raises $7M, eyes nationwide clinic rollout
Breast imaging startup BeSound recently raised nearly $7 million in seed funding with an eye toward rolling out healthcare clinics nationwide.
The San Francisco-based firm offers technology that combines ultrasound with Food and Drug Administration-approved, near-infrared photo-acoustic imaging. It’s focused on targeting the more than 40% of women with dense breasts, whose cancer cases may be missed by traditional mammography.
Founded by CEO Bailey Renger, a former NASA quantum researcher, BeSound hopes to soon open its first location this fall in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, with more to follow in New York and elsewhere in the coming months.
“The current medical imaging system is failing too many women,” Renger said in a news update shared by Femtech Insider. “I started BeSound because I experienced firsthand the frustration of long waits, insurance hurdles and feeling dismissed,” she added, pondering: “Why can we see into the furthest corners of the universe, but not reliably 2.5 cm inside the human body?'”
Overwater Ventures co-led the seed round alongside Kindred Ventures and Muse Capital, with participation from several others. BeSound highlighted challenges across the U.S., with many insurance carriers declining to cover ultrasound and other supplemental breast imaging. It will offer scans for about $350, promising radiologist results within 48 hours. Renger and colleagues hope to better streamline the screening process while offering easier booking, no insurance headaches and quicker turnarounds, replacing “what can be a weekslong stressful process.”
“New FDA regulations requiring that women be notified about their breast density have shined a spotlight on a critical issue,” radiologist Rachel Brem, MD, who is serving on the company’s advisory board, said in the news update. “BeSound is partnering with clinicians to bring ultrasound and photo-acoustic ultrasound technology—once limited to select hospitals—directly into broader clinical practice.”
San Francisco-based VC firm Kindred Ventures explained its decision to invest in the startup via a separate announcement. It noted that BeSound also will tap proprietary artificial intelligence as it aims to collapse “weeks of steps” for a mammography appointment into a single visit. Kindred also cited previous research, claiming the technology can reduce unnecessary biopsies by up to 75%.
“In the near future, breast cancer screening will shift from decades-old, one size fits all mammograms to AI-powered functional imaging that adapts to each woman’s biology,” the investment firm said in its announcement. “The future isn’t just about finding cancers earlier, it’s about giving women fast, precise answers, and building an experience that puts them at the center of care.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.