Manta Cares<\/a> officially launches with $5.4M in seed funding led by Pear VC and Sozo Ventures, with participation from 1843 Capital and strategic angels including Dr. Stanley Marks, Chair of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and founder of Via Oncology, transforming those personal tools into a free platform already trusted by 8,000 cancer patients and families.<\/p>\nBeyond Information to Navigation<\/p>\n
The platform centers on what Daswani calls \u201cthe map\u201d \u2013 a visual representation resembling a subway system that charts 300-500 decisions patients face from first suspicion through treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cNavigating cancer felt like a treacherous hike where you don\u2019t get access to a map, the right tools, or the right guides,\u201d explains Daswani. \u201cInformation today is easy to access. It\u2019s identifying right from wrong, appropriate from inappropriate, relevant from irrelevant that\u2019s the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each \u201cstation\u201d on the map connects patients to evidence-based resources, practical tools like appointment notebooks and symptom trackers, and critically, support services they might not know exist. In one example, pharma companies invest $15,000-20,000 per patient annually in copay assistance programs \u2013 yet under 3% of eligible patients know they\u2019re available.<\/p>\n
Redesigning the Ecosystem, Not Just the Experience<\/p>\n
What distinguishes Manta from typical digital health tools is its ecosystem approach. The company already partners with three of the top 15 pharmaceutical manufacturers, eight health systems including Stanford, and 40 patient advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re shamelessly patient-first,\u201d Daswani emphasizes, noting the company has turned down six-figure deals that didn\u2019t meet that standard. Instead, revenue comes from partnerships that genuinely benefit patients \u2013 like connecting them with financial assistance programs at precisely the right moment in their journey.<\/p>\n
The approach is attracting attention beyond patients. Clinicians report that appointments improve when patients arrive prepared with Manta\u2019s tools. In the U.S., where doctor visits average just 10 minutes, giving patients structure for those precious moments transforms care delivery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not here to replace care teams \u2013 we\u2019re here to complement and support them,\u201d says Dr. Doug Blayney, Manta\u2019s Chief Medical Officer and former president of ASCO, who brings four decades of oncology experience to ensure clinical validity.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Manta-Cares-Map-1024x673.png\")
Image: Manta Cares<\/p>\n
Built by Those Who\u2019ve Been There<\/p>\n
The 10-person team shares a defining characteristic: Cancer is personal to nearly everyone. Whether survivors themselves or those who\u2019ve lost family members to the disease, the team combines lived experience with interdisciplinary expertise spanning healthcare, consumer technology, and design.<\/p>\n
This personal connection shapes product decisions. Rather than \u201cwellness inspiration\u201d or glossy dashboards, Manta focuses on practical realities \u2013 tracking medications, preparing questions for appointments, understanding treatment options.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamira and the Manta team are tackling one of the most quietly devastating gaps in healthcare \u2013 with humility, urgency, and a rare precision,\u201d said Mar Hershenson, Managing Partner at Pear VC. \u201cThey\u2019re not building another health tech tool \u2013 they\u2019re creating something that truly puts patients first as they manage the chaos of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expanding Beyond Breast and Lung Cancer<\/p>\n
Currently supporting breast and lung cancer patients, Manta plans to add prostate and colorectal cancers next. While the model could extend to any complex condition imposing significant burden on patients and families \u2013 fertility and rare diseases generate the most outside interest \u2013 the company remains laser-focused on oncology for now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone gets diagnosed with cancer, they should get access to a map like the one we\u2019re building,\u201d Daswani says. \u201cThat feeling of not knowing where you are and that loss of control in a place where we actually know what the map looks like \u2013 for me, that\u2019s not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company has already earned recognition from those who matter most: Patients. Recent honors include Advocate Health\u2019s #LovedOneStandard Award and the Corinne Leach Patient Experience Award at CancerX, both selected by patient communities.<\/p>\n
A Different Kind of Fight<\/p>\n
For the millions diagnosed with cancer annually, Manta represents something fundamental: The recognition that patients shouldn\u2019t have to fight two battles at once.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe often talk about \u2018fighting cancer,\u2019 but the truth is, we\u2019re up against two battles \u2013 one against the disease and one against a system that was never designed for patients,\u201d Daswani reflects. \u201cManta exists so people don\u2019t have to fight both at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
As healthcare increasingly embraces patient-centered design, Manta\u2019s approach \u2013 building with rather than for patients, partnering across the ecosystem rather than disrupting it, and focusing on navigation rather than information \u2013 offers a blueprint for meaningful change.<\/p>\n
The platform remains free for all users, available at mantacares.com<\/a>. For those facing cancer\u2019s dual battles, it\u2019s the roadmap they shouldn\u2019t have to create themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manta Cares Founder & CEO Samira Daswani. Image: Manta Cares When Samira Daswani was diagnosed with stage 2B…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":{"0":"post-295747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Manta-Cares-Samira-Daswani-1024x764.jpg\")
Manta Cares Founder & CEO Samira Daswani. Image: Manta Cares<\/p>\n