Announced at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, the new program will back promising companies at a critical stage between scientific discovery and commercial development
NEW YORK, September 22, 2026 — The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) today announced BCRF Ventures, a venture philanthropy program designed to accelerate promising breast cancer innovations from the laboratory to patients. Launching with $23 million in seed donations, which includes a lead gift of $11 million from Karen and Rob Hale, the program seeks to raise and deploy $100 million over the next five years.
Unveiled at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, BCRF Ventures will invest in early-stage companies developing new approaches to breast cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment—targeting a persistent funding gap that causes potentially transformative science to stall before it reaches clinical development.
“Some of the most promising ideas in breast cancer research are lost at the very moment they are ready to move beyond the lab,” said Donna McKay, president and CEO of BCRF. “With BCRF Ventures, we are creating a new pathway to carry breakthrough science further—and get it to patients faster.”
Over the next five to seven years, BCRF expects to build a mission-aligned portfolio of approximately 20 to 30 companies spanning diagnostics, targeted therapies, immuno-oncology, and other emerging technologies.
“With traditional funding models experiencing major shifts that threaten to upend critical research, a bold new vision is a necessity to move research forward,” said Karen Hale, BCRF board of directors co-chair and a lead funder of BCRF Ventures, “And when it comes to bold, when it comes to vision, when it comes to innovation—the Breast Cancer Research Foundation has proven, time and again, its ability to deliver returns on investment that are measured in lives saved.”
Unlike traditional grantmaking, BCRF Ventures will make mission-aligned investments in companies advancing breast cancer science. Financial returns generated from the program will be reinvested in future companies, creating an evergreen source of capital for breast cancer research innovation.
A PROOF POINT: CLAIRITY, Inc.
BCRF’s first venture funding illustrates the model’s potential.
BCRF supported Clairity, Inc., founded by BCRF investigator and breast imaging expert Dr. Connie Lehman. Its flagship platform, Clairity Breast, uses artificial intelligence to analyze a routine mammogram and predict a woman’s five-year risk of developing breast cancer, helping identify women who may be at elevated risk and who may be missed by traditional risk assessment methods and expanding equitable access to earlier, risk-informed care.
In 2025, Clairity Breast became the first AI-powered breast cancer risk prediction platform to receive FDA De Novo authorization. In 2026, Clairity Breast was included in national guidelines for best practices in breast cancer risk assessment.
“Thanks to BCRF Ventures, Clairity shows what becomes possible when promising science has the resources to move rapidly from discovery to real world impact,” said Dr. Connie Lehman, Founder and CEO of Clairity, Inc. “Now, we’re able to accelerate our innovations to improve the lives of women around the world.”
The new program builds on more than three decades of BCRF investment in scientific discovery. Since 1993, BCRF has built one of the world’s leading networks of breast cancer investigators, including those that have been involved in every major breakthrough in research.
That scientific network gives BCRF a unique vantage point to identify breakthrough ideas early—and, through BCRF Ventures, a new mechanism to help ensure those discoveries do not stop at the laboratory door.
“Research only changes lives when breakthroughs reach patients,” McKay said. “This program is about closing that gap.”
Note: The program will begin considering opportunities for funding in 2027.
