Hepta Bio closed a $6.7 million seed round led by Felicis Ventures and Illumina Ventures to commercialize an AI‑driven epigenetic analysis of cell‑free DNA for chronic disease detection. The startup reported clinical performance identifying MASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with fibrosis) with an AUC of 0.86 and the potential to reduce false positives versus current blood tests. Hepta’s technology analyzes differential methylation patterns across cfDNA rather than mutation signals used in cancer liquid biopsies; the company plans to scale datasets, advance regulatory milestones, and commercialize an assay for clinical use.