Photo by Borzoo Moazami on Unsplash
UK Nutrition Startup Raises $15M To Expand In The U.S.
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
Zoe, a London-based nutrition startup, has raised $15 million in a series B extension to expand its presence in the United States.
According to TechCrunch , the recent investment comes from the American company Coefficient Capital. Zoe has raised a total of $118 million since its founding in 2017 , including $30 million raised in 2022.
The startup expects to bring more awareness to the U.S. of its products and services. Zoe provides customers with a kit with at-home testing materials—it can include the collection of feces or blood—to analyze results like blood sugar and microbiome health. After getting the results, Zoe provides a number on a scale from 1 to 100 as guidance to help people make better dietary decisions. They also receive a blood sugar sensor and have access to the platform’s app software to keep track of eating habits and monitor sugar intake.
The platform includes information and helps users navigate personalized suggestions on how to combine foods or what kind of products will help improve their health, like combining avocado with toast to reduce blood sugar peaks, as shown in the promo video on Zoe’s website .
Zoe’s products are already available in the U.S. except for New York due to regulatory restrictions that the company expects to handle soon. The yearly subscription to the services costs $348 or $29 per month and its user base has been steadily growing, now serving more than 100,000 paid customers.
With the new investment, the company will invest in marketing to gain more American customers. Jonathan Wolf, Zoe’s CEO, considers this expansion its “biggest opportunity.”
“Successfully penetrating the US is famously one of the hardest things for a tech company from outside of the country to do,” said Wolf to Sifted . Despite the difficulties, Wolf expects a successful outcome: “That’s partly because the market is so large, but also because the health crisis is so bad.”
Zoe has also invested in research and has participated in trials on par with medical trials mandatory for new drugs, for example. The company assures that its products can help customers improve their health within months.
Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash
Canva Acquires Generative AI Startup Leonardo.ai
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by
The graphic design platform Canva has announced the acquisition of the Australian generative AI platform Leonardo.ai today through a media release.
“We’re thrilled to announce our acquisition of generative AI platform Leonardo as we double down on building and scaling the world’s best visual AI,” wrote Cameron Adams, Canva co-founder and chief product officer, in the document.
Leonardo.ai’s 120 employees—including designers, researchers, and engineers—will join Canva’s team. “This acquisition bolsters our ability to supercharge our growing suite of AI products while investing in continued research and innovation to unlock the future of visual AI,” states the document.
Adams told TechCrunch that Leonardo.ai would continue to work independently, but with access to Canva’s resources and with a focus on research and development as well as quick innovation.
Canva compared the acquisition process to Affinity’s—a creative software acquired earlier this year , in March—which also has an independent agreement and has been supported for faster development by Canva.
According to TechCrunch, Leonardo.ai has over 19 million users and stands out among similar platforms for the control they provide users, with features like Live Canvas in which users can create quick sketches, and the AI-powered tool can anticipate the final result and create photorealistic images.
According to Canva, they now serve 190 million customers across the world and expect to provide new services and keep expanding. The company also announced a new partnership with Getty Images a few days ago.
While Leonardo.ai will work independently, multiple features from both companies will be integrated. “We’ll look to integrate Leonardo’s technology into Magic Studio, which we’re very excited about,” said Adams to TechCrunch. “This might include making existing Magic Studio tools more powerful, or introducing new generative AI capabilities powered by Leonardo’s models directly in Canva.”
Canva is focusing on growing fast in the AI market to stay relevant as multiple companies are developing similar products. Microsoft recently launched its AI-powered Designer app , considered direct competition to Canva, all the while Adobe is also working on new AI tools.
