Using sound waves to evaporate tumors

Zhen Xu knew that most people thought it was impossible to use an ultrasound machine to destroy tumors inside the body. But Zhen was still a University of Michigan Ph.D. student; she decided she could afford to try. After years of testing how to control the high-intensity sound waves, that decision paid off and a new, non-invasive medical procedure was born. In 2009, Zhen co- founded HistoSonics, a Plymouth, Minnesota company whose non-invasive platform liquifies and destroys tumors at the sub cellular level.

HistoSonics was acquired in August 2025 for $2.25 billion by a consortium of top-tier investors that included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and PayPal and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel acquired a majority stake in August 2025 in HistoSonics. The sale made HistoSonics the second-largest venture capital-backed medical device exit ever, excluding IPOs or public company acquisitions

Midwest Moxie's executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. She produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.