A ground-breaking HealthTech co-founded by Spotify’s Daniel Ek which built its model in the UK has launched in New York.
Ek founded Neko Health with Hjalmar Nilsonne to redefine how people understand and act on their health. This summer it raised $700 million in Series C funding.
At the heart of Neko’s offering is the Neko Health Scan – a 60-minute, comprehensive, non-invasive and radiation-free health assessment that captures millions of health data points.
Neko has opened its first US clinic in SoHo, New York – the first step in a US roll-out, with more New York sites and Miami, Washington, DC and San Francisco also planned.
The firm said there was a New York waitlist of more than 25,000 before opening day.
More than 350,000 people have joined the waitlist or registered for a Neko Health Scan, and more than 100,000 in the UK and Sweden have already experienced one. The firm has added clinics in Manchester and Birmingham, as well as multiple locations in London.
Priced at £299 in the UK and 2,750 SEK in Sweden, the scan uses proprietary sensors alongside blood analysis to assess skin health, including moles and marks; biomarkers to identify pre-diabetes risk; blood abnormalities; and risk factors linked to metabolic syndrome, stroke and heart attack.
Results are delivered on-site within minutes and discussed during an in-person consultation with a medical professional, providing members with personalised and actionable health findings.
In addition, body composition measures, captured in seconds during the scan, and clinician review of wearable data, is now live across all clinics – giving members an even more detailed picture of their health both in the moment and between visits. All Neko Health’s technology has been built in-house, including hardware, software and consumer experience.
Nilsonne previously co-founded and served as CEO of Watty, an energy data company which was acquired by Assa Abloy. He was raised in a family of doctors.
As for the US, Neko says six in 10 American adults live with a chronic disease, and four in ten live with two or more. Roughly 90% of national health spending goes toward people managing chronic and mental health conditions. And yet, up to 80% of premature heart disease and stroke is preventable.
“Hjalmar and I have talked about bringing Neko to America since the earliest days of the company because if you want to change healthcare at scale, the US has to be part of that ambition,” said Ek.
“New York is the starting point. New Yorkers place an incredible value on their time and have exceptionally high expectations for how they spend it. This city doesn’t settle for good enough, and neither do we.”
In New York, Neko refers members who need additional care to vetted physicians and healthcare systems, including General Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), Schweiger Dermatology, and Mount Sinai Health System.
“There’s no better time than now to bring Neko Health to America,” said CEO Nilsonne. “We’ve scanned more than 100,000 people across Sweden and the UK, and what we’ve seen is unmistakable: when people can see their health clearly and know what to do about it, they get healthier.”