KC healthtech platform records Series A, closing access gap by embedding research into everyday care

Aton Health is gearing up for its next phase of growth after closing a Series A investment, said founder Tom Sanders, positioning the Kansas City healthcare company to expand its research platform into new medical specialties and markets.

Led by Shore Search Partners, funding is expected to support continued growth of Aton Health‘s TrialSight and CareSight platforms, which bring research into routine patient care by working directly with specialty physician practices. The company plans to invest in technology, operations and hiring while expanding beyond gastroenterology, said Sanders.

Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

“Our mission is to make healthcare research more accessible, actionable, and representative,” said Sanders, who also serves as CEO. “Having a sophisticated healthcare investor like Shore Search Partners see value in our platform accelerates our efforts to deliver research models that fit naturally within care delivery and provide sponsors with access to high-quality, real-world data.”

Rethinking how research reaches patients

Founded in Kansas City, Aton Health helps healthcare providers participate in non-interventional research without disrupting day-to-day patient care. Rather than relying on standalone clinical trial sites, the company integrates research into existing medical practices, giving more patients access to studies while helping healthcare companies collect real-world clinical evidence.

According to Aton, its platform screens tens of thousands of patients each month and has more than 5,000 patients enrolled in active studies.

Tom Sanders, founder of Aton Health, center, participates in a Pavilion KC panel alongside Kyle McAllister, founder and CEO of Trially, and Pavilion KC chapter lead Tony Rock, founder of Lever 6 Capital, at Keystone CoLAB; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

The Shore Search Partners investment follows several years of building that model in gastroenterology, Sanders said July 15 during Pavilion KC’s Founders and GTM Series at Keystone CoLAB in the East Crossroads.

The company’s early focus was making research participation nearly invisible for physicians, he noted.

“We spent a year making sure the doctors really don’t have to do anything other than know we’re doing it,” Sanders said. “We have open access to all of your million patients.”

That approach has helped Aton partner with companies developing early cancer detection technologies, allowing providers to enroll far more patients than traditional referral-based research programs.

Tom Sanders, founder of Aton Health, shares a laugh with Tony Rock, founder of Lever 6 Capital, during a Pavilion KC event at Keystone CoLAB; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Fueling the next chapter

While many startups raise capital to extend their runway, Sanders said, Aton entered its Series A from a position of strength.

“We actually were generating profit every month, so we kind of built that up,” he said. “We took the money more for the future.”

Tom Sanders, founder of Aton Health, speaks during a Pavilion KC event in July at Keystone CoLAB; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

The Series A investment will help the company build new products around its growing data platform while expanding into additional specialties, he explained.

“We’ve been surviving off of existing relationships, which works for now,” Sanders said during the Pavilion KC panel discussion. “We have to productize the data that we’re sitting on top of.”

Aton’s model addresses longstanding challenges in clinical research by making it easier for both providers and patients to participate, said Cameron Perkins, partner at Shore Search Partners.

“The future of clinical research depends on making participation more accessible to patients while minimizing operational burden on providers,” said Perkins. “Aton is helping close that gap by embedding research into routine care through a scalable platform that expands patient access, fits naturally within clinical workflows, and generates broader and more representative real-world evidence.”

As Aton prepares to expand into new specialties, Sanders said, the company sees its biggest opportunity in building on the platform it has already created.

“We’ve got lots of opportunities to expand,” he said.