The round
Neko Health, the preventive health company co-founded by Spotify founder Daniel Ek and Hjalmar Nilsonne, announced on July 15, 2026 that it had closed a $700 million Series C round. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and co-led by O.G. Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Atomico, General Catalyst and Lakestar, alongside new backers Liberty City Ventures, Positive Sum and BDT & MSD, according to Neko's own press release. Individual backers named in coverage of the round include Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, model Claudia Schiffer and tennis player Maria Sharapova, along with a list of entrepreneurs and entertainment figures.
The company said the round values it at close to $7 billion. That is up sharply from the $1.8 billion valuation Neko carried after its $260 million Series B in January 2025, a roughly fourfold increase in eighteen months. Its Series A, a $65 million round closed in July 2023, valued the company at just over $100 million. Across the three rounds, Neko has now raised more than $1 billion.
What the scan does
Neko's product is a roughly 60-minute in-clinic body scan. The company says it combines thermal cameras, 3D imaging, an ECG, lasers and a finger-prick blood test to collect data points across the skin, cardiovascular system and metabolic markers. Neko describes the process as non-invasive and radiation-free. Results are compiled during the visit, and a clinician reviews them with the patient in person before they leave, according to the company. Neko has operated clinics in Stockholm since 2023 and in London since September 2024, where it has listed the scan at £299.
The US bet
The new funding will fund Neko's first US clinics, starting in New York City, with additional locations planned within the year, the company said. As of the funding announcement, Neko had not published a US opening date or US pricing. Founded in 2018, the company has built its European business around walk-in and scheduled clinic visits staffed by physicians, a model distinct from consumer health apps that deliver results through a screen rather than a conversation with a clinician.
The raise is notable on its own terms. Multiple outlets covering the round, including TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Fierce Healthcare, described it as one of the largest single funding events for a consumer-facing preventive health company so far in 2026, arriving as Neko shifts from a European clinic network to direct competition with US-based whole-body scanning providers on their home market.
Where scrutiny lands
Neko's model has drawn criticism from researchers who study screening programs, separate from the funding news itself. In a piece published by Unherd in January 2025, screening researcher Dr. Johansson said Neko's published outcomes have not come from randomized trials with a matched control group, and that the population paying for the scans, which is self-selected and able to afford the out-of-pocket cost, cannot be generalized to the wider public. Johansson was quoted saying that based on available evidence, the scans are more likely a waste of money and time than a benefit, and that there is a real risk of harm through overdiagnosis and treatment of findings that would never have caused a problem. Neko has said clinical trials of its approach are underway. As of this writing, none have been published.
That gap sits alongside a broader shift in how the scan business is treated by regulators. The FDA issued guidance on January 6, 2026 that reduces oversight of certain low-risk wellness devices and software, according to reporting on the guidance. Coverage of Neko's funding round did not address whether the company is pursuing any specific FDA pathway for its US clinics, and Neko's public materials do not state one. Its scans are delivered as an in-clinic service reviewed by a licensed physician rather than sold as a standalone diagnostic product, which is the model most comparable US whole-body scanning clinics have also used.
Why it matters
The size and speed of Neko's valuation growth, from roughly $100 million to $7 billion in three years, reflects strong investor appetite for consumer-paid preventive health services even without published trial data behind the core product. Whether that appetite converts into a durable US business will depend on how quickly Neko can open and staff clinics, what it charges once it does, and whether the clinical evidence it says is coming actually gets published.