Spotify billionaire’s body scan startup has come to America — SkimNews
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- Neko Health, co-founded by Spotify's David Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne, launched in New York with a one-hour $500 scan that screens blood, skin, and metabolism.
- Neko Health has raised nearly $1 billion total and reports a global waitlist topping 300,000 people.
- Farooq Abbasi of Preface Ventures, an early investor, called the US medical system "notoriously plagued" and said preventative care utilization is low because of cost concerns — though HSA holders can expense the $500 scan.
- Abbasi said his own scans grew from 15 biomarkers on his first visit to 55 on his most recent, illustrating how fast the technology is advancing.
- Neko Health uses advanced computer vision for its scans and still needs regulatory approval and broader scale before expanding across the US.
Why it matters: Neko Health's $500 scan is cash-pay with only HSA coverage, while the very cost concerns that depress US preventative care utilization are the problem Abbasi says the company can fix. The 300,000-person waitlist proves demand exists abroad, but US traction depends on regulatory approval and convincing Americans to pay out-of-pocket for something insurance won't cover.
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