Neko Health Secures $700 Million for US AI Body Scan Expansion

Neko Health Secures $700 Million to Usher in AI-Powered Preventive Care in the U.S.

Neko Health, a pioneer in AI-driven preventive health screenings, has successfully raised $700 million in a Series C funding round, signaling a significant expansion into the United States market. The company, which combines advanced medical imaging, comprehensive blood tests, proprietary sensor technology, and expert clinician review, plans to launch its first U.S. clinic in New York City. This substantial investment underscores growing investor confidence in Neko’s innovative approach to proactive healthcare.

The latest funding round was spearheaded by Lightspeed Venture Partners and co-led by O.G. Venture Partners. Prominent existing investors, including Atomico, General Catalyst, and Lakestar, also participated, alongside new strategic backers such as Liberty City Ventures, Positive Sum, and BDT & MSD. David Ofer of O.G. Venture Partners is slated to join Neko’s board, pending regulatory approval, further solidifying the company’s leadership team.

This Series C round propels Neko Health’s total disclosed funding since 2023 to over $1 billion. The company previously secured $65 million in its Series A round in 2023, followed by a $260 million infusion in January of this year, demonstrating a consistent trajectory of significant capital acquisition. The investment portfolio also boasts notable individual backers, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, former tennis champion Maria Sharapova, musician will.i.am, and football legend Thierry Henry, alongside existing individual investors like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and actor Zoë Saldaña.

**The Neko Health AI Body Scan: A Deep Dive into its Technological Architecture**

Neko Health’s core offering operates through state-of-the-art clinics that integrate full-body imaging, sophisticated blood analysis, cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and custom-engineered medical equipment. The service is meticulously designed to detect potential early indicators of a range of critical health conditions, including skin cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

The company positions its service as a swift, non-invasive, and radiation-free health assessment, designed to be completed within 60 minutes. Leveraging proprietary sensors and advanced blood analysis techniques, Neko aims to meticulously examine skin health, identify blood abnormalities, detect pre-diabetic markers, and assess risk factors for conditions like metabolic syndrome, stroke, and heart attack.

The comprehensive scan includes an electrocardiogram (ECG) to assess heart electrical activity, arterial measurements for vascular health, detailed body composition analysis, and the capture of over 2,000 high-resolution images for a thorough skin mapping. A key differentiator is Neko’s on-site blood processing capability, which enables immediate analysis and review of results during the same appointment, culminating in a personalized consultation with a medical professional.

While many individual components of the Neko assessment, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, ECG data, and dermatological evaluations, are available through conventional healthcare channels, Neko’s innovation lies in its seamless integration. By combining these elements with proprietary imaging technology, automated data capture, rapid on-site blood analysis, and expert clinician oversight, the company aims to deliver a uniquely efficient and holistic preventive screening experience.

However, a critical point of analysis is the current absence of publicly available comparative studies that definitively demonstrate improved clinical outcomes or cost-effectiveness for Neko’s integrated approach when measured against established preventive care pathways. This gap represents an area for future research and validation as the company scales.

**Strategic Expansion and Market Positioning**

The newly secured capital is earmarked for the establishment of clinics in New York and other key U.S. metropolitan areas. While specific locations and a detailed expansion timeline are yet to be disclosed, a waitlist for the New York clinic is already open, indicating significant pre-launch demand. The pricing strategy for Neko’s U.S. scans has not yet been revealed.

Currently, Neko Health operates eight clinics across the United Kingdom and Sweden. These include multiple locations in London and Stockholm, along with facilities in Manchester and Birmingham. The cost of a scan in the UK is £299, while in Sweden it is 2,750 Swedish kronor, translating to approximately $400 and $285 USD, respectively.

Since its service launch in 2023, Neko reports having completed 100,000 scans, with over 350,000 individuals having registered or joined waitlists. A remarkable 75% of customers opt to book and prepay for a follow-up scan at the conclusion of their initial appointment. This high repeat-booking rate is attributed to the ability of clinicians to track and compare physiological measurements and skin imagery over time, offering valuable longitudinal health insights. Nevertheless, the optimal frequency for annual screening across diverse age and risk demographics remains an area that warrants further investigation and personalized recommendation.

Founded in 2018 by Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek and chief executive Hjalmar Nilsonne, Neko Health operated discreetly until its public service launch in 2023. A significant portion of the new capital will be allocated to further research and development in advanced preventive screening technologies. Recent advancements by the company include the integration of body-composition measurements and the review of data from wearable devices. Furthermore, Neko has introduced updated versions of its proprietary medical devices – Derma, Echo, and Spectrum – which enhance the collection of data related to skin health, cardiac function, and circulation. These next-generation devices are designed to capture a greater volume of health data and automate more aspects of the scanning process, with deployment across existing clinics planned in the coming months. The clinic-based model necessitates substantial investment in proprietary equipment, robust blood-processing infrastructure, skilled medical personnel, and specialist diagnostic review. While Neko’s Covent Garden clinic in London, a seven-room facility, is designed to handle tens of thousands of scans annually, specific capacity and staffing projections for its U.S. facilities are still forthcoming.

**Navigating U.S. Regulatory Landscapes and Market Access**

In the United States, Neko Health’s internally developed devices have received clearance through the FDA’s 510(k) pathway. Specifically, the Derma-2 system was cleared as an adjunctive telethermographic system, and the Spectrum-2 was cleared as a tissue-saturation oximeter for cardiovascular measurements, both in May 2026. It is important to note that these clearances pertain to the specific devices and their intended applications, rather than an overarching FDA approval for the complete Neko Health Scan as a singular diagnostic service.

Neko Health strategically positions its U.S. clinics as providers of preventive health and wellness services, distinct from comprehensive medical practices. Its privacy policy emphasizes that customers should continue to engage with their existing healthcare providers for diagnoses and treatment, even for conditions identified during a Neko scan. The company ensures that findings requiring further medical scrutiny are reviewed by specialist clinicians, including dermatologists and cardiologists. When recommended, follow-up appointments, referral letters, and introductions to external specialists are facilitated as part of the service.

Crucially, Neko’s U.S. clinics do not currently participate in health insurance networks, and most of its services are not covered by payers. Consequently, patients are expected to bear the full cost of the initial assessment. Information regarding the cost of potential diagnostic tests or treatments pursued through external healthcare providers, as well as any potential subsidies from employers, insurers, or other organizations, has not yet been announced.

**Evaluating the Clinical Evidence Base**

A thorough review of publicly available information has revealed a lack of completed, peer-reviewed studies that validate the comprehensive Neko Health screening service. While a study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov is actively evaluating the suitability of Neko’s multimodal skin-imaging technology for screening and diagnostic support applications, including skin cancer and Raynaud’s phenomenon, this trial is ongoing and does not yet provide clinical performance data for the entire Neko Health Scan.

Furthermore, Neko’s published materials do not currently disclose the frequency of false-positive findings generated by its scans, the number of customers who undergo subsequent procedures, or the proportion of flagged abnormalities that are ultimately deemed clinically insignificant. The company’s U.S. privacy notice does mention the utilization of an AI dictation system to summarize medical records, questionnaires, scan data, and clinical conversations, as well as to draft reports. Neko states that clinicians review all reports generated through this system. However, precise details on the extent to which AI, conventional software, or direct clinical assessment contribute to various scan measurements and classifications remain undisclosed. It is also important to clarify that AI is not independently diagnosing the conditions covered by the service. The FDA clearances for individual devices do not necessarily establish the performance of every algorithm used to integrate and interpret the resulting data. Detailed real-world performance metrics for each AI system employed within the screening process are also not comprehensively provided in public materials.

Neko’s reported health outcome data is derived from a cohort of 1,469 customers who underwent a second scan approximately one year after their initial assessment at the company’s Stockholm clinics. This group reportedly exhibited improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, with body weight remaining relatively stable. The company categorized these results into general, healthy, and specific risk groups (hypertension, pre-diabetes, or diabetes). Neko acknowledges that this analysis was not a formal scientific study and lacked a control group. Therefore, the observed improvements cannot be definitively attributed to the scans themselves, as participants may have initiated treatments or altered their lifestyles between appointments. This analysis also exclusively includes customers who opted for a second, privately purchased scan, and demographic data comparing this group to the broader customer base or the general population has not been published.

The company has refrained from disclosing its valuation following the latest funding round. However, The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, has reported that Neko Health is now valued at approximately $7 billion. This significant valuation reflects the market’s optimism regarding the potential of AI-driven preventive healthcare solutions.