Level Zero Health, a female-founded medical device startup, has raised $6.9 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to develop the world’s first continuous hormone monitoring device. The round was led by Swiss VC Redalpine, with participation from HAX (SOSV), Entrepreneur First (EF), and industry experts.
Founded in 2023 by Ula Rustamova, former Palantir Enterprise Tech Lead, and Irene Jia, a former medical device developer at Philips, the company aims to transform hormone testing by eliminating the need for invasive blood draws. Their DNA-based technology measures hormones in interstitial fluid through a wearable patch worn on the arm, providing real-time readings of key hormones including cortisol, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
“Our innovative remote monitoring technology marks an enormous leap forward in hormone testing, and this funding will enable us to bring this revolutionary solution to market,” Rustamova told TechFundingNews. “This breakthrough in health technology has come about in a relatively short amount of time, but already we are seeing strong demand from customers who recognize the benefits of hormone monitoring not only because it allows patients to skip invasive and inconvenient lab tests, but also because it captures critical data inaccessible before.”
The company is pursuing a dual-track approach: a single-use wearable patch for intermittent hormone testing expected to launch next year, and a continuous monitoring device targeted for 2028. “The goal is to create a whole new market out of this, right? The same way CGMs did. They literally, out of nothing, created a multi-billion dollar market,” Rustamova explained to TechCrunch.
In just under a year, the company has validated its DNA-based sensors in simulated samples across 98% of the human clinical range, outperforming industry standards. The technology has attracted an impressive clinical advisory board, including Aaron Styer, Medical Director at CCRM Fertility and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Joshua Klein, Medical Director at Extend Fertility.
“This technological breakthrough by Level Zero Health will transform the clinician’s ability to manage and monitor hormonal-based diseases and treatments,” says Dr. Styer. “The technology has a myriad of applications across remote hormonal monitoring for fertility treatments and endocrine disorders. It will significantly expand patient access to care, reduce healthcare costs, and enable clinicians to change the paradigm of medical practice.”
The funding will support R&D advancement, team expansion in the UK and US, and preparation for clinical trials and regulatory approvals. The company plans to initially target B2B clinical applications, with potential future expansion into pharma and consumer applications.
