RISA Labs Secures $11.1M Series A to Scale AI OS for Oncology

RISA Labs, a Palo Alto-based startup building an AI “operating system” for oncology workflows, has raised $11.1 million in a Series A round as it pushes to expand deployments across the US cancer-care ecosystem. The funding signals increasing appetite for AI that doesn’t just analyze medical data, but removes day-to-day operational friction that can slow therapy starts.

Series A round and expansion plan

The Series A was co-led by Cencora Ventures and Optum Ventures, with Oncology Ventures, Z21 Ventures, and John Simon (via Ventureforgood) also participating. The company says the new capital will support broader rollout across oncology networks and community practices nationwide.

RISA Labs had previously raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal in April 2025, giving the team early momentum to prove the model in real-world settings. With the Series A closed, the focus now shifts from early deployments to scaling a repeatable operating layer that works across clinics, health systems, and related partners that support oncology care.

Who built RISA Labs—and why

RISA Labs was founded by IIT Kanpur alumni Kshitij Jaggi (CEO) and Kumar Shivang (CTO), who previously built the healthcare startup Urban Health. The company positions its flagship product as BOSS (Business Operating System as a Service), designed to help oncology organizations move faster while staying compliant in highly regulated workflows.

The core problem RISA targets is operational complexity: multiple stakeholders, payer-specific requirements, and fast-changing treatment regimens that create administrative gridlock even when clinical decisions are clear. By making these processes easier to execute and audit, the company aims to help oncology teams spend less time navigating systems and more time on patient-centric work.

How the BOSS Console works

RISA’s platform centers on the BOSS Console, a configurable command center that orchestrates workflows end-to-end and can be tailored to an institution’s routing logic, documentation standards, and practice-specific rules. The system is built to integrate with systems of record (such as EMRs) and operational tools to handle tasks like benefits checks, prior authorizations, and other patient-access steps that often require repetitive, high-stakes coordination.

A key design point is traceability: the company emphasizes that actions taken by the AI layer are trackable and audit-ready, helping leadership understand what happened and why, without turning the workflow into a “black box.” RISA also highlights the ability to adapt to changing payer requirements and complex multi-drug care paths without forcing teams into constant manual rework.

Early results and why investors are leaning in

From early partner deployments, RISA reports major operational gains, including roughly an 80% reduction in administrative staff time spent on these workflows and up to 40% fewer denials. The company also cites first-pass approval rates reaching 97.8%, with authorizations filed within 24 hours and trending toward much faster turnaround versus an average eight-day backlog. In one deployment, more than 20 FTEs were reassigned to higher-value work rather than eliminated—an important angle as oncology practices face staffing pressure and rising patient volumes.

Cencora has framed the investment around the growing complexity of oncology therapies and the increasing need for systems that streamline access and operational execution. RISA, meanwhile, is positioning BOSS as a scalable operational layer already used in leading oncology networks and community practices, with the Series A intended to accelerate national expansion.

For healthcare leaders tracking applied AI beyond models and prototypes, these themes—workflow automation, compliance, and real-world ROI—regularly show up in industry conversations and events hosted by The AI World Organisation.