Predictive Oncology Inc. (Nasdaq: POAI) has completed a groundbreaking $343.5 million financing to establish what the company calls the world's first Strategic Compute Reserve, marking a significant evolution in AI-driven drug discovery funding models. The Pittsburgh-based company closed two private investment in public equity transactions (PIPEs) on October 7, 2025, combining traditional cash investment with digital assets to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities for cancer research.
Strategic Compute Reserve Initiative
The financing consisted of approximately $50.8 million in cash proceeds and $292.7 million in notional value of ATH tokens, the native utility token of the Aethir ecosystem. The company raised funds through the sale of approximately 4.4 million shares of common stock at $11.6265 per share in the cash component, and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 14.9 million shares at $11.6165 per warrant in exchange for locked and unlocked ATH tokens.
"This strategic investment clearly aligns with our growing computational needs and capital requirements as we continue to pursue our mission to be an industry leader in AI-driven drug discovery," said Raymond F. Vennare, Chief Executive Officer of Predictive Oncology. "At the same time, we believe that this strategic collaboration will enhance Aethir's ability to provide the foundational infrastructure crucial for the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning on a global scale."
AI Platform Capabilities
Predictive Oncology's scientifically validated AI platform, PEDAL, demonstrates remarkable precision in drug discovery applications, predicting with 92% accuracy whether a tumor sample will respond to a specific drug compound. This capability enables more informed selection of drug/tumor type combinations for subsequent in-vitro testing, potentially accelerating the drug development process for cancer patients worldwide.
The company maintains a vast biobank of more than 150,000 assay-capable heterogeneous human tumor samples, complemented by its wholly owned CLIA laboratory facility. This combination positions Predictive Oncology to offer one of the industry's broadest AI-based drug discovery solutions to academic and industry partners.
Aethir Partnership Benefits
The partnership with Aethir provides access to one of the world's largest decentralized GPU networks, spanning 435,000 GPU containers across 200+ locations in 93 countries. This infrastructure enables global access to Nvidia GPUs-as-a-Service with approximately 40-80% cost savings compared to traditional and neocloud providers such as AWS and Google Cloud.
The decentralized nature of the Aethir network allows for rapid deployment of AI workloads within 24-48 hours instead of months, ensuring researchers, start-ups, and enterprises can scale efficiently. ATH tokens function as a proxy for GPU compute power and serve as a medium of exchange within the network, with compute providers staking ATH as collateral to ensure service level adherence.
Strategic Leadership Addition
Shawn Matthews, CEO of DNA Holdings Venture, Inc. and former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, joined Predictive Oncology's Board of Directors as part of the strategic initiative. "I am very excited to be taking the next step in the evolution of ATH and look forward to help drive its adoption. ATH is a unique token that both exemplifies and enables the future growth of artificial intelligence," Matthews stated.
DNA Holdings Venture, Inc. served as the strategic advisor and investor in the cash component of the financing, while H.C. Wainwright & Co. acted as the exclusive placement agent for both transactions.
Implementation Strategy
The company plans to use the in-kind ATH contribution to fund its digital asset treasury strategy and deploy remaining proceeds primarily for additional ATH acquisitions in the open market. For each ATH token purchased on exchanges, the DCI Foundation will grant the company an additional 20% of ATH tokens, creating a utility-driven model that links token value to real-world infrastructure demand.
The pre-funded warrants issued in the crypto component will become exercisable following shareholder approval, with the company having completed a 1-for-15 reverse stock split effective September 30, 2025. This strategic approach aims to create what Dan Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Aethir, describes as strengthening "Aethir's ability to provide the global infrastructure layer for the future of AI."
