Scientist Tuhin Sinha and Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus started Riva Health to assist people in taking their blood pressure in a manner that has been approved by doctors. By detecting early indicators of cardiac disease, blood pressure can assist identify at-risk people before they become truly in danger. riva health menlo venturesmascarenhastechcrunch. Riva aspires to be a total software solution that interfaces with hardware that it believes its target user already has: their smartphone while competing for hardware solutions on the market claim the same result.
Menlo Ventures, along with True Ventures, sponsored a $15.5 million seed fundraising round for the business, which is coming out of stealth today. The University of Colorado Innovation Fund and UC Health each contributed $5 million to the round, and additional angel investors included Larry Gies of Madison Industries and Brandon Cruz of GoHealth. Greg Yap of Menlo will be entering the panel after speaking with Sinha for three years before joining.
Anyone can use Riva by simply opening the application on their smartphone and tapping “Go,” which activates the phone’s backlight sensor. When the user places their touch over the right camera, the app will direct them and assist them in adjusting the position until it locks into place. Riva will then utilize the light to track changes in blood pressure and produce an image of it on the screen.
The “well-known element of this innovation” is generating a wave by shining a flashlight on a blood vessel, according to Sinha. The wave’s shape and its relationship to blood pressure are novel, and our trump card is rigorously and thoroughly confirming alterations in a wave shape. Sinha refused to elaborate on the specific methods they are using for validation but stressed that it is essential for a startup to test blood pressure in several settings, such as standing or sitting, to determine its efficacy.
The application will be made public later this year or in the first several months of next year, subject to FDA approval. The effectiveness and accuracy of Riva will largely depend on the upcoming months, which Sinha, the head scientist, promises will be rigorous but quick. He is personally invested in the success of the business.
