# Numen

> Numen (formerly Cleancard) is a San Francisco biotech building rapid at-home cancer screens that read like a pregnancy test. By combining synthetic biology, machine learning, and computer vision, its platform detects multiple cancer biomarkers from a single urine sample in about 30 minutes, with no lab machinery required. Founded by Rhodes Scholars Thomas Carroll and Luca Springer, the company's first screens target prostate, bladder, and ovarian cancer, with a mission to drive cancer mortality toward zero.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** Thomas Carroll (Co-Founder (clinical cancer researcher, bioinformatics & biomarkers)), Luca Springer (Co-Founder (network science, computational game theory, healthcare policy))
- **Team size:** ~18-19 employees
- **Products:** Rapid at-home cancer screen, Synthetic biology + AI diagnostic platform, Health data infrastructure
- **Notable:** Selected for Y Combinator (Summer 2023), Targeted 10 new cancer biomarkers during the YC batch, Built a platform claimed to be 10x more sensitive than lateral-flow tests and 10x cheaper than lab tests

## Products & services

- **Rapid at-home cancer screen** — A urine-based test that detects multiple cancer biomarkers and returns results in about 30 minutes, with no lab equipment needed. Read by a smartphone camera and computer-vision model.
- **Synthetic biology + AI diagnostic platform** — A multiplexable, machine-readable assay format combining synthetic biology, machine learning, and computer vision. Claimed to be ~10x more sensitive than lateral-flow tests and ~10x cheaper than lab-based tests.
- **Health data infrastructure** — Streamlined high-volume health data collection that feeds proprietary models for earlier intervention and better outcomes.

## Achievements

- Selected for Y Combinator (Summer 2023)
- Targeted 10 new cancer biomarkers during the YC batch
- Built a platform claimed to be 10x more sensitive than lateral-flow tests and 10x cheaper than lab tests
- Founded by two Rhodes Scholars who met at the University of Oxford
- Filed the NUMEN ATLAS trademark under Cleancard Inc.

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Reported additional funding; total funding around $5.13M (Series A reported).
- **2024-01** — Rebranded from Cleancard to Numen; site moved to numen.com with status 'Launching Soon.'
- **2023-09** — Closed ~$5M seed round.
- **2023-08** — Public launch via Y Combinator Summer 2023 batch.

## Links

- Website: https://www.numen.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/numenbio/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/numen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-13