August 6, 2026 | by |
August is opening with a blood draw and a “flush” in two Financings and one substantial, additive GI Deal
The much-ballyhooed Function Health raises another $450 million from General Catalyst. This debt financing adds to their war chest, now $804 million. Crunchbase The growth financing from General Catalyst, which makes news with its raises, follows on Function’s November 2025 Series B round of $298 million led by Redpoint
Function provides direct-to-consumer 160+ lab tests in an annual self-pay subscription model ($365, HSA/FSA eligible). Their pitch is to enable you to “live 100 healthy years” by self-testing for conditions such as thyroid, cardiovascular, hormones, immune disorders, and early signs of fatty liver and cancer, plus two annual full-body scans. The tests are performed via Quest Diagnostics in 48 states (excluding Rhode Island, Hawaii, and the territory of Puerto Rico). Members also receive a physician-reviewed results and insights. Function also offers MRI and CT scans (for an additional cost below $1000). They acquired in the past two years Ezra AI (full-body MRI scans), Getlabs (at-home or office blood draw network), and SuppCo (supplements). Function members have performed over 100 million lab tests in the past three years.
According to their CEO Jonathan Swerdlin, their target is “anyone who wants to be healthy”, but drilling down, it is the worried well, those wanting to centralize their ongoing testing, and those managing chronic conditions. Having gone through (and will be going through) a battery of thyroid and related tests, those of us who don’t have a physician brother to write up testing (and now an endocrinologist) could find this very attractive indeed, especially those with HSA/FSA accounts. For Medicare beneficiaries, it’s strictly out of pocket but if you have a lot of testing to do, perhaps worth it. The next part of this, of course, is getting your labs to a specialist without going through a primary care provider.
Reaching out to sell memberships to a broad consumer audience via traditional and social media is going to be an expensive proposition. $365 is not a trifling sum and getting your labs done via procedures like blood draws isn’t wonderfully pleasant. It requires national marketing and promotion, with a value proposition that takes some of the sting out of that blood draw. We’ll see if this happens as a result of the debt financing this fall. Release, MedCityNews
Hinge Health expands into GI care with Cylinder Health. One-time MSK remote physical therapy specialist Hinge Health continues its specialty expansion with $105 million for gastrointestinal care management company Cylinder Health. The buy is all cash and expected to close during Q3, subject to the usual customary closing considerations
Cylinder has already treated 150,000 people for gastrointestinal (GI) conditions and has a clinically validated ROI. From the release: “The acquisition will combine Cylinder’s clinical expertise and existing market footprint with Hinge Health’s AI-powered care model and technology platform to deliver support in a single app expected to launch in 2027. There is no mention of how the companies will go forward in management and workforce locations.
Hinge expanded from MSK therapy into pain relief via the Enso pulse wireless device, pelvic health, migraine care (Enso), and fall prevention. Interestingly, in the release the CEO quote from Daniel Perez, alludes to GI care being an unmet need. “Many people we already serve for back, joint, pelvic, and migraine care also have chronic digestive conditions. After spending time with Terry Boch and the Cylinder team, it’s clear that Cylinder gives us a running start in a category with significant unmet need.” (If you, like this Editor, spend any time on YouTube, one is assailed with digestive health ads, often, as we said as teens but perfect here, ‘gross’.)
Hinge went public last year at $32/share [TTA 22 May 2025] and is currently trading at around $80/share, a gain of over 100%, so they are doing something right in a very competitive space against Omada Health and Sword Health. Mobihealthnews, Healthcare Dive
And while we are discussing things gastrointestinal, Throne Science raised a Series A of $10 million. It was led by Will Ventures with participation from Emerson Collective, Workshop, LEAD VC, Salt VC, Accomplice, Moxxie, Ventures Together, Symphony, Felix Capital, Cosmic Venture Partners, Offscript, V1.VC, and Morrison Seger. Throne Science has developed an AI-assisted toilet sensor for $399 (plus $5.99/month membership) that monitors for bathroom habits, specifically monitoring patterns around hydration and gut health. Last month, they launched the beta version of their Gut Health AI coach which allows users to query the app about their data. The fresh funds will be used for further R&D for the next generation of the device targeting early detection of colon and urinary tract cancers. Interestingly, one of the founders is John Capodilupo, formerly CTO at the previously mentioned WHOOP. Release,Mobihealthnews
Disclaimer: Throne Science has nothing to do with the British, or any other, Kings or Queens.
Categories:Latest News and Opinion.Tags:Cylinder Health, Function Health, General Catalyst, Hinge Health, Quest Diagnostics, and Throne Science.
