Preventive well being firm appoints former Amazon and Samsung exec as COO and eyes early detection assessments for a number of continual illnesses.
Longevity firm Viome has raised $25 million by way of an inside Sequence D spherical. The brand new funding, raised from current traders together with Khosla Ventures, Daring Capital, WRG Ventures and Marc Benioff, will likely be directed towards increasing the corporate’s providing by way of the formation of a brand new diagnostics division.
Primarily based in Bellevue, WA, Viome employs superior AI and the world’s largest gene expression database to create home-based assessments, providing customers personalised dietary steering and merchandise that help well being and longevity. With greater than 500,000 customers already benefiting from its companies, the corporate combines proprietary RNA sequencing methods with AI to research epigenetic biomarkers and generates insights that promote wholesome getting old and longer life.
Viome is concentrating on a niche in preventive well being practices, with the corporate suggesting that fewer than 10 p.c of People endure common screenings, and solely a few third of sufferers are recognized early as a consequence of outdated, reactive healthcare techniques. The brand new capital will likely be used to launch the corporate’s diagnostic division, and it has appointed former Amazon SVP and Samsung Chief Digital Officer Kal Raman as COO, who is predicted to play a key position within the new initiative.
Viome has already ventured into diagnostics with its CancerDetect take a look at for oral and throat most cancers, which boasts 90 p.c sensitivity and 95 p.c specificity. With FDA Breakthrough System Designation, the corporate is about to increase its diagnostic choices within the coming yr, concentrating on intestine well being and different vital well being areas.
“Oral well being is only the start of our journey into revolutionary diagnostics,” stated Naveen Jain, CEO of Viome. “We plan to increase our diagnostic choices considerably, together with growing assessments for intestine well being situations like IBS and IBD. I can’t consider a greater individual to carry on board to drive our diagnostic improvements. Kal’s position will likely be essential in enhancing our capacity to ship superior, personalised well being options, in the end serving to hundreds of thousands of individuals lead more healthy, extra knowledgeable lives.”
Raman will lead efforts to develop new assessments for early detection of continual illnesses, most cancers and aging-related situations. His appointment comes at a time of great development in personalised well being options, pushed by developments in AI.
“Viome is a real innovator and pioneer within the well being house, being one of many first to acknowledge the vital significance of preventative measures,” stated Raman. “That is evident by the success of its microbiome assessments, which have already helped hundreds take management of their well being by way of personalised insights and suggestions.”
