The bathroom is becoming a diagnostic lab.
What’s happening: Gut health startup Throne secured $4M in a seed round led by Moxxie Ventures, with participation from Lance Armstrong and Justin Mares.
Funding will help bring its AI-powered toilet-affixed diagnostic device to market early next year.
Stool science. Throne’s flagship product uses computer vision to monitor human waste for signs of colitis, IBS, and kidney disease, and hydration levels. Paired with photo-based meal logging, its app translates stool data into personalized health insights.
Bathroom bio. Advancements in AI and encryption are opening the door to private matters.
Bringing clinical-grade diagnostics home, Healthy.io and Vivoo are scaling urine test strips, while Chinese company Shanmu’s pod can identify inflammation levels.
Advancing its toilet-affixed device, Withings’ new U-Scan Nutrio links diet choices to ketones, Vitamin C, acidity, and hydration levels. Connecting results to care, Cylinder (fka Vivante Health) added smartphone-based stool analysis by acquiring Dieta Health.
Punchline: With 40% of people facing GI issues and 14% living with chronic kidney disease, and most undiagnosed, Throne is betting that early detection starts with what we flush.
