Making the right dietary choice is a daunting task for many. While there are ample options for what to eat, the real challenge lies in the complexity of staying updated with ever-evolving nutrition science, understanding one’s unique health data, and navigating a myriad of dietary needs and restrictions.

Unfortunately, existing wellness apps often fall short. They either fail to encompass the entirety of a user’s health data, offering generic advice, or they focus on specific aspects and lack a holistic approach. Furthermore, in real-world scenarios, like choosing a meal from a restaurant menu, these apps provide little to no practical assistance.

Enter Nuuro, one of the companies on the frontlines looking to solve the nutrition problem. The startup, which has shown lightning-fast progress since its start in January 2023, aims to be the personal AI nutritionist you never knew you needed. All it takes is a quick scan of a menu, and Nuuro does the rest.

But the technology is only part of what makes Nuuro stand out. The startup’s approach was born not just from market need but the personal experiences and insights of its founders, Claudia Hilti and Dimitris Messinis, who turned their individual challenges and expertise into a shared vision to tackle dietary dilemmas.

“My personal health journey began with the discovery that my body wasn’t meeting its nutritional needs,” says Claudia, the co-founder of Nuuro with a background as a restaurateur and Food & Beverage Innovation. The realization led to a big change in her life, which came with a set of new challenges like keeping up with the foods she should be eating and maintaining a proper balance when eating out.

“This struggle inspired me to develop Nuuro, a tool designed to simplify and guide dietary choices based on individual health requirements in real-time,” explains Claudia, who was aware that she wasn’t the only one struggling with dietary recommendations.

Her counterpart, Dimitris — a seasoned expert in Systems Biology with a background that includes a Ph.D. in Systems Medicine, time in corporate R&D at Philip Morris, and a stint at the FDA as a data scientist — also saw the potential in using technology to unravel the complexities of human nutrition.

“Having personally tried to collect and analyze various health data like DNA, blood, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and microbiome, I was curious to find out whether we can use this data to make better decisions, increasing our healthspan,” says Dimitris.

Together, they envisioned Nuuro to leverage cutting-edge AI for personalized dietary recommendations, and in a very short amount of time, they have managed to make it happen.

Although the founders only began working together in January 2023, Nuuro won a spot in an elite accelerator program by April, where it became one of the two startups out of 150 applicants to get funded. A few months later, there was already a minimum viable product (MVP).

The startup’s growth has been propelled by strategic partnerships and continuous innovation, including collaborations with industry leaders like Aveato Catering, which is bringing simplicity to food choices by integrating QR codes into buffet setups for Aveato-organized catering events. This and other alliances have validated Nuuro’s mission to make personalized dietary guidance mainstream.

Nuuro has also engaged in neuro-culinary research in collaboration with institutions like foodward and HSLU to gain insights and develop personalized products for greater well-being and better health. This has placed Nuuro at the intersection of nutrition, health, and technology, setting new benchmarks in the industry.

However, the real milestone came toward the end of 2023, when Nuuro launched its app on the AppStore, soon to be followed by its introduction on Google Play. The launch brought the product to market, but more than that, it has put forward a tool that is changing the way people think about and manage their nutrition.

Nuuro plans to continue its expansion, something it is doing with the help of funding from Genesis Ventures VC. This crucial partnership is set to fuel further development and expansion of Nuuro’s app.

Stergios Anastasiadis, GP at Genesis Ventures, says, “At this early stage we invest in the founding team. Both Claudia and Dimitris are founders that have deep knowledge in the nutrition field, but also the right mindset to experiment with ideas and the speed of execution to bring them to consumers. A lethal combo which we saw in action as part of our DayOne accelerator. It’s not easy to make personalized dietary guidance mainstream, but using AI will accelerate the journey and bring the right solution to consumers to help them make better eating choices.”

And the funding from Genesis is only the first step in Nuuro’s journey to become a leader in personalized nutrition technology. The company continues to seek investors with knowledge in health and wellness who share their vision.

With grand ambitions that include an expansion into the healthcare industry, innovative B2B partnerships, and collaborations with restaurants, supermarkets, and experts, Nuuro promises a future where personalized, healthy eating is easily accessible and seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a transformative journey towards a healthier, more informed society.

Nuuro’s app caters to a wide demographic, targeting health-conscious individuals across urban centers in the USA, Switzerland, Germany, and the UK while remaining accessible globally.