Cascader secures seed funding to advance eyecare with AI

Cascader has completed a seed funding round to accelerate its AI tools to detect and manage eye disease. The investment marks a significant step towards bringing clinically validated technology into everyday patient care. 

The UCL Ventures’ spinout focuses on enabling safe, evidence-based decisions in high-volume, high-risk conditions, where earlier intervention can prevent avoidable sight loss. 

The seed round was led by THINC (Topcon Healthcare Innovation Center), the venture arm of Topcon Healthcare, to support the spinout’s first products as they move towards market readiness. It will also enable Cascader to build the team needed to deliver on its ambition to lead in AI-powered eyecare. 

Cascader is initially focusing on macular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – one of the leading causes of permanent sight loss in the UK. By applying AI to clinical imaging, the technology helps clinicians identify disease earlier and diagnose it more accurately, whether in high-street optometry or specialist hospital settings. 

Over time, the company will expand its AI tools into other conditions and diseases, and explore how eye scans can reveal signs of wider health conditions, such as heart disease and neurodegenerative conditions. This will open new possibilities for earlier, joined-up patient care that could save sight and even lives. 

Cascader was formed through a partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Topcon Healthcare and UCL Ventures. It builds on more than a decade of pioneering research at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields, including a landmark collaboration with Google DeepMind. The project demonstrated that AI could interpret detailed eye scans and make referral recommendations comparable to expert clinicians – creating strong foundations for real-world patient use and impact. 

Dr. Mark Fisher, Associate Director, Biopharm, UCL Ventures, said: “This move from research into real-world use reflects a core part of UCL Ventures’ role: working with academics, clinicians and partners to protect new ideas, attract investment, and build companies that can make a measurable difference. By supporting spinouts like Cascader, UCL Ventures helps bridge the gap between discovery and use in everyday care, ensuring that innovation benefits patients, healthcare systems and society more broadly.” 

Professor Peter Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Cascader, added: “At its core, Cascader is about taking proven research and making it usable in everyday care,” said “Our ambition is to deliver world-leading AI capabilities directly to clinicians, both in hospitals and on the high street, to benefit patients and the NHS. This funding allows us to take that next step.” 

The funding also reflects growing global interest in using eye data to enable more joined-up healthcare, including THINC’s ‘Healthcare from the Eye’ initiative. 

As Cascader enters its next phase, the focus remains clear: creating practical tools that help clinicians diagnose eye disease earlier and improve care – and outcomes – for patients. It is a clear example of how university research, with the right support, can be turned into healthcare solutions that go beyond the lab to make a real difference.