Spiden rakes in 18 million dollars

Spiden, a MedTech start-up based in Pfäffikon in the canton of Schwyz, has announced that it has raised 18 million US dollars following the successful closing of a financing round. Until now, Spiden, which was founded three years ago and has since been managed by serial entrepreneur Leo Grünstein, has been working in secret. With this first public announcement, Spiden has said that its team has successfully developed a technology platform that is able analyze biomarkers and medication in real time. In so doing, cutting-edge optical technology and Artificial Intelligence is used. This enables the platform to carry out spectroscopic measurements of physiological fluids, with a particular focus on blood.

Grünstein’s vision is based on the fact that his optical technology does not break up the fluids to be analyzed, which is in stark contrast to conventional chemical lab testing. One day, it may even be possible to analyze blood on a continual basis by way of an implant. This would facilitate healthier lifestyles and the earlier detection of diseases, in addition to helping to improve and personalize medical treatments.

Grünstein poses the question: “How come humanity wants to fly to Mars, yet we still don’t know what the short and long-term health effects are of the things we eat, the environment we live in, the medication we take, and the way we exercise or sleep?” He goes on to explain in the press release that his motivation for founding Spiden was to leverage the benefits of real-time feedback to help improve and extend our lives.

The recent financing round was led by Ornament Health. “Spiden is building what we believe is the future of preventative medicine, as its unique data set will help to uncover correlations between lifestyle choices, medication and longevity”, explains Snezhana Gurina, CEO of Ornament, in the press release. The Ornament health app could function as Spiden’s partner for the user interface of its data.

In addition to Ornament, investors involved in the financing round include Geberit, the Swiss hygiene products group, the start-up investment firm btov, which has an office in the canton of St.Gallen, and Daniel Gutenberg, as well as reputable, high-ranking former executives of US and South Korean businesses.