A smart ecosystem transforming healthcare through exercise.
Preventative health systems are taking shape.
ICYMI
Yesterday, lab testing company Function Health acquired whole-body MRI startup Ezra.
Vertically integrating, Function will pair Ezra’s $500 scans with its comprehensive biomarker panels — combining preventative diagnostics and AI-powered insights, no pre-approvals required.
Ezra previously raised $41M to make MRIs faster and more affordable. Joining Function—which secured $53M last year—its 22-minute scans will soon scale to 1K+ locations.
Centralizing
Reimagining the patient experience, Function is one of many players building a Personal Health OS that gives individuals agency over their well-being.
A favorable idea, nearly half of young adults believe well-informed people can be as knowledgeable as doctors, two-thirds see lived experience as expertise, and 61% view institutions as barriers to care.
Fed up with reactive care, many already collect data across wearables, lifestyle apps, DTC diagnostics, and more, but most are siloed. Rolling up, Function is architecting a unified platform capable of generating clinically relevant insights from raw inputs.
A step further, end-to-end LLMs could close the loop, linking cause and effect, turning insights into actions, syncing with PCPs, and laying the foundation for an AI-powered medical future.
OS Fits All
The holy grail Health OS must be technically robust yet intuitive, low-touch but highly motivating, science-backed but open to anecdotal evidence, plus navigable by both patients and providers.
A work in progress, Apple, Oura, and WHOOP are also vying to become the ultimate integrative interface — along with a host of upstarts.
Disruptors. Delivering concierge-level metrics minus the PCP, Superpower scored $30M this April. A pocket-sized AI doctor, YC-backed Mito Health generates comprehensive digital health profiles by merging labs, medical records, family history, lifestyle info, and more.
A primary care copilot, Lotus combines data, personalized insights, and care navigation support. Serving Europe, Barcelona-based Holo is exploring a similar vision, while Paris-born Autonome’s digital twins put prevention on autopilot.
Dashboards. For day-to-day data management, Bright OS, Gyroscope, and Guava Health want to be the go-to super-app, tracking everything from meals and sleep to exercise and scans.
Geared toward fitness, Bevel focuses on longevity and performance, while Hematica’s beta app caters to female athletes. Contextualizing data against life stories, Fulcra Dynamics and Lotic factor past, present, and future for holistic self-reflection.
Provider-led. For independent clinicians, Vibrant Practice, Livv Health, and Heads Up Health design shared doctor-led dashboards that improve transparency. Tackling chronic illness, Empirical uplevels care by syncing wearables within its companion app.
Takeaway: Consumers are purchasing more layers of data—from futuristic physicals to daily wearables—but outdated EMRs can’t keep up. With an abundance of passive inputs, preventative health-seekers now need a personal LLM.
🎙 On the Podcast
Cadence founder Ross Mackay discusses scaling an authentic, lifestyle-first brand.
Cadence is a performance supplement brand creating premium hydration products for goal-oriented individuals — from elite athletes to business leaders.
We also cover: Leveraging collabs to shape a lifestyle brand, creating founder-led content, and decision-making frameworks for high performance.
Listen to today’s episode here
🍬 Grüns Hits $500M Valuation
The gummy supplement maker announced a $35M Series B, valuing the two-year-old company at half a billion dollars.
Candyland. Replacing powered greens with functional gummies, Grüns is cashing in on the convenience of a snackable, all-in-one wellness ritual.
Scaling fast, it ships 4M gummies per day with “nine-figure” ARR. Last year, it added kids version Cubs and cognitive support line Nütrops, with more SKUs expected this summer.
Selling DTC, plus at Target and Walmart, international expansion is reportedly on the horizon.
Chewables. Gummies make up 23% of supplement sales, with 38% of Gen Z and 30% of millennials preferring them to pills or tablets.
Targeting specific needs, the nostalgic form factor has unlimited applications, like gut health, energy, immunity, recovery, beauty, and focus.
Next up. Precision stacks like arrae’s creatine gummies, Timeline’s longevity chews, and TopGum’s “gummiceuticals” are gaining, while 33% of buyers want non-prescription GLP-1 gummies.
Punchline: Consumers want foundational nutrition and functional benefits, but make it fun.
🏋️ Reimagining the gym
EGYM is bringing intelligence to every fitness floor.
Cutting-edge. EGYM’s Genius AI integrates data across smart machines, apps, and services from 200+ partners to create hyper-personalized training plans for every exerciser.
Adaptable. Adjusting to individual goals, fitness levels, and available equipment, its unique ecosystem meets gym-goers and operators where they are.
Effective. Ushering in a new era of workouts, EGYM’s tech makes trainers more efficient, analog machines smarter, fitness more fun, and members more motivated to come back.
It’s AI for the entire gym. It’s the future of fitness. And it’s available now.
Learn more at EGYM.com.
🏅 High-performers microdose GLP-1s
Beyond diabetes treatment or weight management, athletes and gym-goers are using low-dose injections to improve VO2 max, reduce inflammation, support recovery, and sustain energy.
Cheat code. Initially dismissed as a shortcut, GLP-1s are gaining acceptance. As enhancements like TRT and Botox become more common, wellness culture is selectively pro- and anti-Big Pharma, especially when results are aesthetic.
Next wave. With GLP-1-style interventions on the horizon for sleep, stress, and longevity, pharmaceuticals are moving further into consumer health, challenging long-held assumptions about willpower, behavior change, and the pursuit of wellness.
On-ramp. By solving for biology, not discipline, these drugs offer some a much-needed reset, expanding participation across movement, nutrition, and preventative health.
But for otherwise healthy people, limited research on long-term effects, plus the propensity for unmonitored self-experimentation, has experts urging caution.
Looking ahead: As the line between wellness, performance, and medicine continues to blur, it will transform how consumers engage with health, and how brands compete to serve them.
📰 News & Notes
- Oura sells Dexcom CGMs.
- PepsiCo to remove food dyes.
- AG1, supplement brands invest in clinical trials.
- ASICS taps Neurun for AI-driven race prep platform.
- KANE Footwear hires marketing vet Mark Tarnuzzer as CMO.
- Alani Nu tops $1B in annual sales. [Re-read: Celsius Acquires Alani Nu]
- Prism Labs powers Fit3D’s tablet-based mobile body comp technology.
- Momentous, Maui Nui collab on product supporting Hawaiian communities.
- Danish boutique Nordic Strong plans Hamptons pop-up ahead of NYC debut.
- Pro-Tier unveils employer-subsidized benefits platform for personalized plans.
- Dream Performance & Recovery launches sleep-/workout-enhancing nasal strips.
- Hiring? We can help. Fitt Talent Partners offers full-service recruiting for health and wellness companies.
💰 Money Moves
US 🇺🇸 / Canada 🇨🇦
Preventative lab testing company Function Health acquired AI-powered MRI startup Ezra.
Gummy supplement maker Grüns raised $35M in a Series B round.
NewLimit, a cellular rejuvenation startup, raised $130M in a Series B led by Kleiner Perkins.
FoodHealth (fka bitewell), a nutrition intelligence platform, raised $7.5M in a Series A round co-led by Reach Capital and Ulu Ventures.
Longevity and diagnostics platform Hundred Health acquired competitor BellSant.
Ketamine-assisted therapy platform Noma Therapy launched with $4.25M in funding.
Pallie AI, maker of an AI chatbot for emotional and social support, raised $2M in a pre-seed round led by True Ventures.
Chimney Trail Health, provider of mental resilience training for the military, received $25M from Marine Corps Community Services.
Spark Biomedical, creators of a vagus nerve stimulation wearable, secured $15M in a Series A led by WAVE Ventures.
Epicore Biosystems, maker of hydration-sensing wearables, added $6M to its Series B round.
Nerva, maker of digital therapeutics for IBS, acquired Mahana Therapeutics, a platform using CBT to support GI conditions.
Telehealth platform Teladoc Health acquired digital mental health platform UpLift for $30M.
Europe 🇪🇺
Swiss blood pressure intelligence platform Hilo (fka Aktiia) secured an oversubscribed $42M Series B round.
The HEINEKEN Company acquired a minority stake in British better-for-you energy drink TENZING.
France’s Chipiron, maker of miniaturized MRI systems, scored €14.9M ($17M) in a Series A.
Dawn Health, Danish maker of software as a medical device (SaMD), raised €11.5M ($13M) in a funding round.
Asia 🌏
Indian farm-to-fork food brand Anveshan landed Rs 48 crore ($5.7M) in a round led by Wipro Consumer Care Ventures.
Lifechart, Indian operator of gut health platform Guttify, added $360K to its seed round.
Indian clean-ingredient kids snack brand Troovy raised Rs 20 crore ($2.3M) in a pre-Series A round.
The Good Bug, an Indian probiotics and metabolic health company, raised Rs 100 crore ($11.9M) in a Series B round.
Latin America 🌎
Uruguayan metabolic health platform Yeda Health secured $300K in a pre-seed round.
Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Anthony Vennare, Joe Vennare, Ryan Deer, and Jasmina Breen.
