For decades, the only way to know what was happening inside your body was to visit a clinic, get poked with a needle, and wait three days for a PDF report.
Inito, a Bengaluru and US-based health-tech startup, is betting $29 million that the future of diagnostics looks less like a laboratory and more like a smartphone attachment.
The company has closed a Series B funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments and Fireside Ventures, bringing its total valuation to a rumored $150 million. But the real story isn’t the money—it’s the pivot. Inito is moving beyond the “baby business” (fertility tracking) to tackle the entire endocrine system.
The “Shazam” for Hormones
Most at-home tests are static; they give you a “yes” or “no” (think COVID tests or pregnancy strips). Inito’s device is different. It uses a proprietary “Flat-lens” technology that allows a standard smartphone camera to read chemical color changes on a test strip with lab-grade precision.
The core innovation, however, lies in AI-designed synthetic antibodies.
“Hormones are volatile,” says CEO Aayush Rai. “Estrogen fluctuates hourly. Testosterone drops when you’re stressed. A single blood test is a snapshot; we are building a movie.” By engineering antibodies that are more stable at room temperature, Inito allows users to test themselves daily, creating a continuous stream of biological data previously available only to hospitalized patients.
Why Investors Are Buying In
The “Quantified Self” market has matured. We have conquered the heart (Apple Watch), sleep (Oura Ring), and glucose (Ultrahuman). The final frontier is hormones.
The new capital will fund the expansion of Inito’s test menu into three massive, underserved markets:
- Menopause Management: A $600 billion opportunity to help women navigate perimenopause with data rather than guesswork.
- Male Testosterone Optimization: Addressing the global decline in male testosterone levels with accessible, private tracking.
- Cortisol & Stress: Real-time monitoring of stress markers to prevent burnout.
The Healthcare Shift
Inito’s raise signals a broader shift in the “Hospital-at-Home” economy. With healthcare systems globally strained by aging populations, insurance companies are increasingly willing to pay for devices that keep patients out of the doctor’s office.
If Inito can prove its new panels are as accurate as a phlebotomist’s needle, it won’t just be a gadget for the bio-hacking elite—it will become the standard thermometer for the 21st century.
