Investors recently invested $ 133 million in a digital health company that is taking an unusual approach – a low-carbohydrate diet to treat type 2 diabetes.
San Francisco-based startup Virta Health recently raised $ 133 million in funding, led by investment firm Tiger Global. According to Crunchbase, Virta’s valuation would double to $ 2 billion after raising $ 373 million to date.
Unlike other companies with app-based coaching programs to treat diabetes like Livongo and Omada, Virta’s is based on carbohydrate restriction. Users receive devices such as attached scales, blood sugar and ketone test strips and enter their weight and blood sugar data.
Like many of its app-based colleagues, Virta is hiring health coaches. Doctors are also hired to help prescribe drugs such as insulin.
Trulia co-founder Sami Inkinen founded the startup in 2014 after he was diagnosed with prediabetes. Dr. Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek, who have published books on low-carb diets, are also listed as co-founders.
In a statement emailed, Inkinen confirmed that its program is based on principles similar to those of a ketogenic diet.
“We limit carbohydrates to personal tolerance levels while adapting to lifestyle, preferences and access to food,” he wrote.
Virta doesn’t mention its keto-like approach in its marketing materials. It bills itself as “a leader in reversing type 2 diabetes” – a claim based on an open, non-randomized study published in 2018. Virta found that 94% of people who used the program for a year were able to reduce or stop taking insulin, but the fact that participants volunteered to use the Virta solution , could affect the results.
While there is evidence of the use of ketogenic diets for certain medical conditions, e.g. In reducing seizures in children, but it is less clear how effective they are in the long term. Because ketogenic diets can be restrictive, dietitians have raised concerns that they may be difficult to follow or that people may be turning to more unhealthy sources of protein and fat.
Virta says it has acquired more than 100 companies as customers to date, notably a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, the payments are structured according to a risk-based model. This means that companies don’t have to pay an employee enrollment fee until after 30 days of use, and make annual payments tied to blood sugar control and drug reduction.
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