Level Zero Health has successfully raised $6.9 million in pre-seed funding to develop a wearable biosensor capable of transforming hormone testing. By utilizing interstitial fluid to monitor hormone levels, the startup aims to create a new product category similar to the market-disrupting impact of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).
The Path to Continuous Monitoring
Building a hardware-based medical device is a complex, long-term endeavor. Level Zero Health is adopting a dual-track development strategy to bridge the gap between current medical protocols and their long-term vision of a fully continuous wearable, which is tentatively slated for a 2028 market launch.
The company is currently prioritizing a single-use, intermittent monitoring patch. Designed for prescription use, this device utilizes tiny needles to sample interstitial fluid—the fluid surrounding cells that mirrors biochemical compounds found in blood plasma. The team anticipates securing clinical clearance for this iteration by next year, targeting high-demand medical use cases such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
Clinical Goals and Accuracy
The startup is focused on delivering immediate value to healthcare providers. CTO Irene Jia and the engineering team are working to demonstrate a 90% or higher correlation between their patch’s readings and traditional blood draw results. By avoiding the need for frequent, invasive blood tests, the device promises to streamline monitoring for patients undergoing complex hormonal treatments.
Unlike glucose monitoring, where measurement delays can pose immediate, life-threatening risks to diabetic patients, the risk profile for hormone monitoring is significantly lower. This distinction allows the team to iterate on accuracy while providing a less invasive, frictionless experience for users.
A Broad Market Approach
Level Zero Health is positioning itself as a B2B player, selling its technology directly into healthcare provider networks. While the potential for women’s health applications—particularly in fertility—is substantial, the company’s business model includes the monitoring of male hormones, ensuring a wide addressable market.
The $6.9 million funding round was led by Redalpine, with additional participation from HAX (SOSV) and Entrepreneur First. Philip Kneis, an investor at Redalpine and board member at Level Zero Health, noted that the transition of fundamental science into engineering is paving the way for a new era of personalized diagnostics.
As the company moves toward clinical trials, the focus remains on proving that their novel biosensor can provide the “source of truth” required to modernize hormone tracking, ultimately shifting the paradigm of diagnostic medicine.