Biotech & Health

Microbiome startups respond as industry is accused of ‘questionable practices’

The biotech sector has embraced the microbiome in recent years, a green field market powered by cheap genome sequencing and venture dollars, promising bespoke treatments for everything from gut troubl

With cycle tracking, Withings considers taking half of the population seriously

Whenever I talk to people working in the quantified self — fitness and health trackers — there’s a murmuring about how little attention is given to literally half the population. For

Tierra Biosciences nabs $11M to create new AI-guided proteins

By using cell-free technology, Tierra is able to cut down protein manufacturing from months to weeks and enable customers to order proteins online. 

Pitch Deck Teardown: Astek Diagnostics’s $2M seed deck

Astek Diagnostics closed a $2 million round for its urine diagnostics system, despite the fact that raising money for medtech isn’t for the faint of heart. The company’s deck has some good

AALTO seeks to democratize high-speed internet access through solar-powered drones

In the beginning of 2021, Alphabet shuttered Loon. It was a familiar story within the annals of Google X history: an ambitious moonshot with tremendous upside that sputtered out prior to gaining any s

Headspace brings meditation to Meta Quest

Mindfulness and meditation apps have tremendous potential in the world of extended reality. The full immersion created by headsets like the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro offer great potential to kic

MDaaS raises $3M to improve healthcare access and expand network across Nigeria

MDaaS Global, a Nigerian health tech company that operates a network of tech-enabled diagnostic centers across the country, has secured $3 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Aruwa C

This Swedish startup wants to reduce the cost, and controversy, around stem cell production

With the news that “mini organs” have been grown for the first time using human stem cells, this futuristic area of bio-medicine is clearly accelerating by leaps and bounds. However, harvesting st

UnitedHealth confirms ransomware gang behind Change Healthcare hack amid ongoing pharmacy outages

American health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group has confirmed a ransomware attack on its health tech subsidiary Change Healthcare, which continues to disrupt hospitals and pharmacies across the Uni

Sweanty’s wearable patch for athletes tracks salt loss to help them hydrate

Wearables are coming in an increasing array of shapes, form factors and guises these days as health and fitness tracking proliferates. Here at 4YFN at the MWC tradeshow we spotted a new one: A stick-o

SynFlora is working on bioengineering a skincare revolution

Biotech startup SynFlora brought an enticing pitch for a new type of skin treatment technology to 4YFN at the MWC tradeshow in Barcelona this week. The Spanish startup, a spin-off out of Pompeu Fabra

These desktop lamps beam near-infrared light, in a bid to improve your mood

As humans spend increasing amounts of time indoors, we lose access to the sun’s natural benefits. Recognition of season affective disorder has grown accordingly. While the actual occurrence of the c

Samphire Neuroscience is building a brain stimulating wearable for period pain

It’s a horrible truth that many women simply endure period pain every month — perhaps relying on painkillers or a hot water bottle to relieve stomach cramps. For others, menstrual pain can

Bioptimus raises $35 million seed round to develop AI foundational model focused on biology

There’s a new generative AI startup based in Paris. But what makes Bioptimus interesting is that it plans to apply everything we’ve collectively learned about AI models over the past few years wit

Y Combinator wants 100 times more MRI scans

Leveraging resources such as virtual data rooms and shared labs makes it easier for biotech startups to grow. This is good news: We need more companies attacking cancer from novel angles.

Earlybird Health closes twice-larger second fund, will write bigger checks

Germany-based Earlybird Health announced the final closing of its second fund of €173 million (around $185 million). This is more than twice the size of Earlybird's first healthcare-focused fund.

Kenya’s Ilara Health gets $4.2M backing to expand clinic-support services

Ilara Health, a Kenya-based health tech enabling private clinics to access diagnostic devices and pharmaceutical products, has secured $4.2 million debt-equity in a pre-Series A round. The funds will

Samsung gets FDA nod for smartwatch sleep apnea detection

Samsung this morning announced that the Galaxy Watch line has received FDA approval for sleep apnea detection. The move is a big one for the smartwatch category, where health and fitness now comprise

Stellar Sleep app gets initial funding to awaken root cause of chronic insomnia in users

Stellar Sleep’s mobile app taps into psychological methods to help users break the cycle of those frequent nights awake.

Ambience Healthcare raises $70M for its AI assistant led by OpenAI and Kleiner Perkins

Artificial intelligence has an increasing role in the world of healthcare, and startups that bring the two worlds closer are seeing significant traction with customers and investors. In the latest dev
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