Cancer affects ten thousands of patients annually in Switzerland, critically impacting people and society, and overburdening the healthcare system. Ineffective and costly treatments, along with high mortality, require the development of new combinatorial therapies and better patient care, relying on stronger integration of the multiple players of the Swiss healthcare system. 

The National AI Initiative for Precision Oncology (NAIPO) addresses these challenges by introducing an integrated, AI-powered precision oncology platform designed to transform cancer care delivery. By deploying advanced AI models across every stage of the patient journey, we improve diagnostics, personalize treatments, and support data-driven clinical decision-making. Dedicated clinical interfaces and patient-facing applications will help ensure that both clinicians and patients can benefit from these advances in a transparent and accessible way.

At the core of NAIPO is the development of a new generation of medical AI models trained on uniquely rich and multimodal datasets combining genomics, liquid biopsies, digital pathology, radiology, clinical records, and longitudinal patient data. The initiative pioneers large transformer-based foundation models for precision oncology, enabling deeper analysis, prediction, and treatment response modeling across heterogeneous biomedical data sources. These models will continuously evolve through curated biomedical knowledge, clinical feedback, and real-world patient data.

Building on learnings of past initiatives, our approach develops novel clinically-informed AI tools through secure, federated infrastructure and integrated tools. The project explores multimodal AI, large language models for mining clinical records, AI agent supporting tumor board decisions, and privacy-preserving algorithms that enable collaboration without compromising sensitive patient data. This ambitious program redefines the role of AI in medicine and establishes Switzerland as a leader in medical AI innovation. 

Our unique consortium broadly engages Swiss hospitals, companies, and startups as key implementation partners. Local hospitals will facilitate nationwide deployment of the initiative. Companies will accelerate the commercialization of medical AI solutions, software products, data infrastructure, and new therapies. Through modern data platforms and AI-optimized diagnostics and treatments, NAIPO improves patient care, strengthens innovation, alleviates financial pressure on the healthcare system and attracts global investment.