05 Dec 2022
Lumen expands metabolic health platform and preventative healthcare mission
BY Frances Marcellin
Lumen, a health tech company that analyses people’s metabolism based on the CO2 and oxygen in their breath, has raised US$62m in Series B funding. The round was led by Pitango Venture Capital, with participating investors including, Hanwha Group, Resolute Ventures, RiverPark Ventures, Unorthodox Ventures, Almeda Capital and Disruptive VC.
The investment will be used to fuel growth in and outside the US, increase the nutrition and lifestyle guidance for consumers and support research partnerships with academic institutions.
Research shows that the metabolic health crisis currently affects 88 per cent of American adults, increasing the yearly healthcare costs of one person by up to US$2,000 per year. According to the NHS, metabolic syndrome – a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity – impacts one in three adults aged 50 or over.
“Understanding the impact of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress on your metabolism is key to reaching your health goals,” said Daniel Tal, CEO and co-founder of Lumen. “One of the things we’re most excited about is enabling people to take care of the ‘engine of the body’, which is our metabolism. Over the last year, Lumen customers discovered what types of foods they should be eating and what habits they should change or maintain. It’s been incredible to see the impact Lumen has had on so many people in such a short period of time.”
Last year Lumen launched a food logging platform – which works alongside the peer-reviewed handheld device that launched in 2020 – to assess metabolic fuel usage (carbohydrates versus fats). Overall, the platform tracks metabolism, sleep, nutrition and fitness data to provide a flex score. This shows a user’s metabolic flexibility – the ability of the body to switch between fat or carbohydrates – which aids weight loss and improves sleep and energy levels.
Over the course of 2022, Lumen has taken part in research studies with academic institutions, such as Purdue University’s Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology. In a study carried out with the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, the Lumen device was used to show how metabolism-based nutrition can reverse prediabetes conditions.
“Until now, studying metabolism with the standard equipment was challenging for both researchers and participants,” said Dr Merav Mor PhD, chief scientist and co-founder at Lumen. “The data collection was minimal and would require participants to come to a clinic for each measurement and a practitioner to analyse the results. Now researchers can easily collect multiple data points from participants and build more complex research protocols that unveil new physiological findings.”
A six-month Lumen subscription, which includes the device, starts at US$249 (£249 in the UK), renewing at US$19 (£19 for UK users) monthly after. The app is available on the App Store and on Google Play and is compatible with Apple Watch and Garmin Devices.
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