Daniel Ek’s body-scanning start-up Neko Health has raised $260mn in new capital to fuel expansion of its clinics to the US, as the Spotify founder aims to build what he called the Apple of healthcare. Ek co-founded Neko in Sweden alongside entrepreneur Hjalmar Nilsonne, its chief executive, in 2018, financing the venture for its first five years through his investment firm Prima Materia. “I think we have a shot of changing the biggest industry on earth and accomplish a win-win-win where we reduce costs for society, we reduce suffering and we can create a fantastic business,” Ek told the Financial Times. “The companies we compare ourselves with are the Apples or Teslas of the world, but we’re applying it to a very different domain, which is healthcare.” The start-up’s funding round announced on Thursday values Neko at $1.7bn, according to people familiar with the terms. The investment will help it expand to more countries, including the US, when it receives the necessary regulatory approvals.

Full report : Neko Health, a startup co-founded by Daniel Ek that offers AI-based full-body scans, raised a $260 million Series B led by Lightspeed, sources say at a $1.7 billion valuation.