Spotify founder forays into healthcare industry, launches new startup

SAN FRANCISCO: Music streaming platform Spotify founder Daniel Ek has launched a new startup called Neko Health based in Sweden, which specialises in providing body scans powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Daniel Ek founded the company along with Hjalmar Nilsonne, who is a co-founder and CEO of Neko Health, with the vision to create a healthcare system that can help people stay healthy through preventive measures and early detection, according to Neko Health's LinkedIn post.

The startup was officially launched after four years of research and product development, reports Sifted.

'Early detection and prevention of serious illness would mean that we can avoid both the human suffering and the high social costs that serious illness entails. With our technology and AI, that future is now a possibility. This could be the basis for a whole new era in healthcare,' Nilsonne, was quoted as saying.

People with skin and heart issues, according to the startup, can get the Neko Body Scan and a thorough examination of their health in their first health centre in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ek and Nilsonne founded HJN Sverige, now Neko Health, in 2018 and have since raised more than 30 million pound (approximately $32 million) in funding, primarily from Ek and his moonshot investment firm Prima Materia, said the report.

Meanwhile, Spotify announced its premium subscribers base has touched 205 million, representing a 14 per cent increase year-on-year. This makes Spotify the world's first music streaming company to achieve such a large user base.