NodeAI Selected for Ontario's $5 Million Life Sciences Innovation Fund.
TORONTO – NodeAI Diagnostics Corp. has been named one of 10 recipients of the fourth round of Ontario's Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF), a $5 million provincial investment delivered by the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) to accelerate the commercialization of made-in-Ontario health technologies.
Each selected company will receive up to $500,000 to advance development, expand operations, and bring new medical technologies to market. For NodeAI, the investment will accelerate the company's regulatory path as it brings AI-powered EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound) lymph node staging to lung cancer patients.
"Ontario just bet on us, and we're not taking it lightly," said Mackensey Wittke-Thompson, CEO and co-founder of NodeAI. "This funding moves us meaningfully closer to putting better diagnostic tools in the hands of the clinicians making some of the most consequential decisions a lung cancer patient will ever face. We're grateful to have Ontario cheering us on."
Addressing a Critical Step in Lung Cancer Care
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and accurate lymph node staging is one of the most important decisions in a patient's diagnostic pathway. It guides treatment selection, informs prognosis, and shapes outcomes. NodeAI's platform helps clinicians identify lymph nodes, predict malignancy, and improve biopsy guidance during EBUS procedures — bringing greater accuracy and consistency to a workflow that currently varies widely between operators and institutions.
The LSIF capital will support NodeAI's verification and validation activities, FDA submission work, and continued multi-centre clinical evidence generation across Canada, the United States, and international sites.
A Strong Cohort, A Strong Ecosystem
NodeAI joins nine other Ontario life sciences companies selected in this round: Esphera SynBio, Kare Chemical Technologies, Myomar Molecular, MyStoria, mDETECT, ScriptRunner Innovations, Stoked Bio, Synakis, and Synmedix. The cohort spans AI diagnostics, liquid biopsy, antimicrobial development, reproductive healthcare, ocular therapeutics, and pharmacy delivery infrastructure.
Notably, three of the ten selected companies — NodeAI, Esphera SynBio, and Stoked Bio, along with Synmedix — are based in Hamilton, with several operating out of McMaster Innovation Park. The concentration reflects the strength of Hamilton's growing life sciences cluster and the role of MIP as a hub for early-stage health innovation.
About the Life Sciences Innovation Fund
The Life Sciences Innovation Fund is part of Ontario's broader strategy to strengthen its position as a global leader in life sciences and biomanufacturing. Since its launch in 2022, the program has helped create and retain nearly 1,400 jobs and has mobilized tens of millions in private-sector co-investment. The Ontario government renewed the fund in its 2025 budget with an additional $15 million over three years.
NodeAI extends its thanks to Minister Victor Fedeli and the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and to Claudia Krywiak, Michael R. Jones, Feiran Zhou, Mandhir (Manny) Kalia, and the OCI team for their continued support of early-stage Ontario founders.
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