Lakestar leads €60m Series A for Neko Health

Healthcare costs today are increasing rapidly. Doctors also have less time and resources to focus on preventative health. To help alleviate this serious problem, Lakestar has led a €60m Series A for Neko Health, with participation from Atomico and General Catalyst. Lakestar Founder & Chairman Dr. Klaus Hommels and Atomico Founder & CEO Niklas Zennström will be joining Neko Health’s board.

After a successful launch in Sweden with overwhelming demand, the company is looking to expand across Europe. Bringing in external partners and financing for the first time, the fresh capital will help accelerate its plans for expansion, continued investment in R&D, clinical studies, and recruitment of world-class expertise.

Neko Health CEO & Co-Founder Hjalmar Nilsonne says, “Healthcare costs are spiralling out of control. We believe preventive health will be key to reversing this trend. Doctors today just don't have enough time or resources to focus on prevention. This leads to many health problems going unnoticed until they get really serious, causing a lot of pain and putting a massive strain on the healthcare system.”

Neko Health is a Swedish healthtech company co-founded in 2018 by Hjalmar Nilsonne (Watty Founder) and Daniel Ek (Spotify Co-Founder). Neko's vision is to create a healthcare system that can help people stay healthy through preventive measures and early detection. This requires completely reimagining the patient's experience and incorporating the latest advances in sensors and AI.

Neko Health has developed a new medical scanning technology concept to make it possible to do broad and non-invasive health data collection that is convenient and affordable for the public. The company is based in Stockholm with 38 employees across Europe. 

The scan takes approximately 10 minutes, always followed by an in-doctor's consultation where you get all the results and recommendations instantly. It uses over 70 sensors to collect 50 million data points in minutes and can detect skin changes as small as 0.2 millimetres, for example. The technology at hand is intended to assist doctors in detecting disease earlier including skin conditions, skin cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other metabolic syndromes.  

When it first launched earlier this year in Stockholm, Sweden, Neko Health sold out all the slots in less than two hours. The enthusiasm for its preventative approach to healthcare remains high, with over 10,000 people currently on the waiting list and a rebooking rate of 80% after the initial scan. This shows that the vast majority of its members choose to make this part of their annual health routine.

“We've demonstrated that our unique approach to this problem resonates with people – that there's a genuine need and desire for this change. This strong demand is what's driving us to expand our horizons. To accelerate this, we're partnering with external investors for the first time. It's time to create the healthcare future we want, for ourselves, and for future generations,” says Hjalmar.

Visit Neko Health’s website here: https://www.nekohealth.com/en