EDITOR'S NOTE
Running is having its moment.
Last weekend, like many others, I watched in awe at Sebastian Sawe breaking sub-2 hours at the London Marathon.
For decades athletes have thought of the sub 2 hour marathon as the holy grail. Kipchoge was the first in 2019 (although the record was never official) and many thought it simply wasn't possible in proper race conditions.
But it isn't just the pros getting faster. With the help of more accessible coaching, carbon plated shoes and education around fuelling and hydration, over 6% of the London Marathon field ran a sub-3 - a time reserved for serious runners until just a few years ago.
We are seeing this democratisation of knowledge, technology and utility across every area of health. Normal people can access things that have historically only been available to a few. And that is what excites me most about health tech.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Spotify launches a fitness category with Peloton at the centre
Spotify Premium subscribers in nine markets including the UK now get access to over 1,400 on-demand Peloton workout classes through a new Fitness hub. The catalogue covers strength, yoga, pilates, meditation and outdoor running, but Peloton's bike and treadmill classes are not part of the deal (spotify.com).
Why it matters: Spotify is becoming a content platform for fitness, not just a soundtrack to it. Peloton gets distribution beyond hardware and independent creators get another route to their audience alongside YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The audience is already there.
Zwift acquires Rouvy, including FulGaz
Zwift has acquired Czech indoor cycling app Rouvy, picking up the FulGaz platform Rouvy bought from Ironman in the same deal. Both apps will keep operating independently with separate roadmaps, subscriptions and teams, and Zwift's smart trainers and Ride bike now work with Rouvy (news.zwift.com).
Why it matters: Indoor cycling is consolidating fast. Zwift removes its biggest non-Asian competitor while keeping Rouvy's real-video product as a differentiated offer rather than folding it in. For founders, this is the playbook for buying without breaking: keep the brand, the team and the roadmap separate, and let the hardware do the integration work.
Oura adds hormonal birth control and menopause insights
Oura is rolling out two new women's health features globally this week: hormonal birth control support inside Cycle Insights, and Menopause Insights built around its proprietary 22-symptom Menopause Impact Scale. In the US, members can also connect with licensed clinicians via Twentyeight Health for prescriptions and follow-up (t3.com).
Why it matters: Over a billion women are in perimenopause or post-menopause and existing tools have not done the job. Oura is now covering the full hormonal arc from cycle to pregnancy to menopause, with the data feeding directly into clinical care. The wearable becomes a referral source as much as a tracker.
Naya Health launches in London with non-invasive brain stimulation
London-based Naya Health has opened a clinic to treat chronic pain, anxiety and burnout using rTMS, a non-invasive therapy that uses targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate areas of the brain involved in pain, mood and stress. It's already used on the NHS for treatment-resistant depression, and Naya combines it with clinical-grade supplements and lifestyle protocols (insider.fitt.co).
Why it matters: rTMS has been around for two decades but mainly accessible to a small number of patients with the right specialist referral. Naya is positioning it as a category-defining service for chronic pain and mental health, drug-free and outside the GP gatekeeping route. Expect more clinics blending neuromodulation with longevity-style protocols.
Peanut launches an AI feature that points you back to humans
Peanut, the community app for 5.5 million mothers, has launched Ask Peanut, an AI feature that searches community conversations for answers and then drafts a post on the user's behalf to share with the community for human validation. The launch follows a 2,041% rise in users posting ChatGPT health and parenting answers to Peanut to be fact-checked by other moms (femtechinsider.com).
Why it matters: Most consumer AI plays are trying to replace community. Peanut is doing the opposite, using AI as the front door but making the community the answer. Worth watching as a counter-model in any vertical where lived experience matters more than synthesis.
INVESTMENT UPDATES
Dehaze, €3.2m seed (munich-startup.de) - Munich-based health AI building a foundational causal model for chronic disease detection, led by YZR Capital and DN Capital with Angel Invest, Zoho and Better Ventures.
Hypervision Surgical, £17m Series A (kcl.ac.uk) - King's College London spinout building real-time hyperspectral imaging for surgeons, led by Heal Capital alongside Angelini Ventures, IP Group and ZEISS Ventures.
Beacon Biosignals, $11m Series B extension (finsmes.com) - Boston wearable EEG company brings its Series B to $97m with new investors JSL Health, Palo Santo VC, Kicker Ventures and Samsung Next.
Timeshifter, $5.3m total (athletechnews.com) - The world's most-downloaded jet lag app added new funding led by Skip Capital and is pushing into shift work and healthcare.
THE HEALTH STACK PODCAST
Episode #05 - Trailer
Richard Carter, CTO of Proximie
A look inside how Proximie is using telepresence, AI and live video to let surgeons virtually scrub in to operations anywhere in the world. The full episode lands in your inbox next week.
ROLES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT
Lead/Staff Backend Engineer - Spill
London (Shoreditch) - In-person
Spill is the UK's top-rated employee assistance programme on Trustpilot, delivering text-based therapy through a Slack app to over 600 companies including Monzo, Rightmove and Hello Fresh. The Lead/Staff role manages a team of five engineers from a small Shoreditch HQ and splits time between hands-on engineering and people leadership.
Commercial Director - Flok Health
Cambridge - Hybrid
Flok Health is the only AI care provider in the UK to be CQC-approved as a registered healthcare provider, with its AI physiotherapy service now live across multiple NHS regions. The Commercial Director sits at the centre of Flok's expansion as it scales beyond back pain into new clinical pathways.
Senior Software Engineer - Thriva
London - Hybrid
Thriva has sent over five million home blood test kits and now powers diagnostics-as-a-service for over 700 healthcare organisations including the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care. The Senior Software Engineer role works across both the consumer app and the B2B platform powering its clinical partners.
Director, Platform Engineering - Neko Health
London or Stockholm - Hybrid
Neko Health, the preventative scanning company co-founded by Daniel Ek, has crossed 300,000 global signups, opened a fifth UK clinic in Birmingham and is launching its first US site in NYC this spring. The Director, Platform Engineering role is a hands-on, zero-to-one build of an AI-native developer platform aimed at changing how Neko's engineers work daily.
Engineering Manager (Product) - Accurx
London - Hybrid
Accurx is used by 98% of GP practices and 68% of NHS Trusts, having grown from a GP-to-patient texting tool into a system-wide NHS communication platform covering Total Triage, Self-Book and Patient Questionnaires. The Engineering Manager (Product) role pays £100-125k plus share options up to £80k and works on the core infrastructure connecting NHS staff and patients.
That's it for Issue #9. If you found this useful, forward it to one founder or investor in your network who'd get value from it. Reply with anything you'd like to see more of. I read every response.
