Healthcare Startup RxDiet Raises $3 Million to Bring AI-Powered “Food as Medicine” to Chronic Condition Patients

New York-based healthcare startup RxDiet has announced the close of a $3 million seed funding round. The round was led by Giant Ventures, with participation from Better Ventures, Form Life, and notable angel investors including Immad Akhund of Mercury Bank.

RxDiet’s mission is to place food at the forefront of medicine, providing patients with personalized meal plans tailored to their specific medical needs and taste preferences. Co-founded in 2018 by Roman Kalista and Jan Skvaril, the company leverages AI technology to create cost-effective, clinically-proven programs for those suffering from conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.

“We want food to be at the forefront of medicine,” says CEO Kalista, who previously founded the personalized nutrition platform AI Nutrition. “Using food to treat chronic conditions is often cost-prohibitive, and RxDiet has lowered the bar significantly for healthcare payers to adopt a program that drives unprecedented engagement, clinical outcomes, and member satisfaction.”

RxDiet’s AI platform analyzes individual medical data and taste preferences to curate personalized meal plans, which are then delivered directly to patients’ homes. The company currently partners with two of the three largest health insurers in the United States, whose plans fully cover the program’s cost. RxDiet also collaborates with national grocery chains to provide local ingredients for patients who prefer to prepare their own medically tailored meals.

The results of RxDiet’s programs have been impressive, particularly with Aetna’s initiatives. These achieved a 97 Net Promoter Score, promising clinical outcomes, and a 76% app usage rate among seniors with an average age over 78 – a historically difficult demographic to engage in healthcare programs.

“RxDiet is a game changer for healthy eating,” says Jia Lin of Giant Ventures. “As the disease burden from chronic conditions grows, RxDiet’s holistic solution serves a critical function not only in managing and reversing these conditions but also preventing them.”

With the new funding, RxDiet plans to expand its team, strengthen its grocery network, and offer its services to a wider range of healthcare payers. The company’s low-cost digital tool is expected to launch this year, making it an affordable option for insurers to provide to their members.

“We are excited about RxDiet as their highly scalable AI platform breaks down the barriers of healthy food making it equally affordable, personalized, and engaging for someone in urban New York as it is for someone in rural Georgia,” says Lin.