Daniel Ek helped build Spotify – now his startup, Neko Health, offers £299 ($400) body scans and is preparing to expand to New York City.
Daniel Ek has spent most of his public life tied to a single idea: make something people return to every day, almost without thinking. At Spotify, that meant turning a vast, messy library of music into a product that feels frictionless, so listeners can press play on the move.
Now he’s trying a version of that philosophy in healthcare. Ek is a co-founder of Neko Health, a Stockholm-born startup that runs clinics offering a preventive health check centered on a full-body scan priced at £299 in the UK.
Ek, who co-founded Neko in 2018 alongside entrepreneur Hjalmar Nilsonne, has framed the venture as a systems problem from the start.
In a statement published when Neko first emerged, he argued that primary care processes were designed “over half a century ago” and have “barely changed,” even as healthcare costs have risen sharply. His view is that the most realistic path to more efficient, affordable care is shifting toward proactive, preventive checks.
How Neko Health works
Neko’s pitch is built around time and clarity. The scan itself is designed to take “just a few minutes,” according to the startup, with results delivered immediately and followed by time with a clinician. The Neko scan blends multiple sensing methods, including high-resolution photography, to assess things such as skin moles, cardiovascular indicators, and markers like blood sugar and cholesterol.
The product sits inside a broader trend of paid, consumer-facing “longevity” and early-detection services that aim to catch risks sooner. Some models lean heavily on MRI, whereas Neko has emphasized a different technical approach, relying on cameras and sensors rather than positioning itself as an MRI clinic.
Demand, at least on the surface, looks strong. Independent coverage has reported a waitlist ranging from 40,000 to 100,000 people. Neko itself, however, has highlighted rapid growth in interest without always publishing a fixed number.
What’s next
Investors have been willing to fund the expansion so far. In January 2025, Neko announced a $260 million Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from General Catalyst, Atomico, Lakestar, and others. The round followed a $65 million Series A in July 2023.
Next comes the hardest part for any clinic-based concept, as the startup looks to move from a compelling single-site experience to repeatable operations in new cities. Bloomberg reported that Neko is preparing to open its first US location in New York as soon as this spring, subject to approvals.
If that launch goes smoothly, it would give Daniel Ek and his co-founder a proving ground in the world’s most competitive market for premium healthcare services, and a chance to show that Neko Health’s model can travel.
