Imagine stepping on a scale and it talks back, not with numbers, but with insight. Now imagine that same scale saving your foot, maybe even your life. That’s not science fiction. That’s Empo Health, and they just locked in $7 million to take diabetic foot care out of the ER and into your bathroom.
Founded in July 2020, Empo Health is the brainchild of two MIT engineers turned medical tech disruptors: Anuj Khandelwal (CEO) and Eric Dahlseng (Co-Founder and CPO). These aren’t your average founders chasing today’s trends. Anuj walked out of Stanford’s Medical Device program with a vision, Eric doubled down on dual MIT degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering with a focus that’s all gas, no gimmicks. Together, they’re not “in healthcare,” they’re in the business of not letting you lose a limb because no one was paying attention.
Here’s the game-changer: over 20 million Americans live with diabetic neuropathy. That’s not “ouch my foot hurts.” That’s “I can’t feel my foot until it’s too late.” Every year, 1.6 million diabetic foot ulcers develop in the U.S. alone, racking up nearly $80 billion in avoidable healthcare costs. Empo saw that and said, what if the scale did more than weigh you? What if it became the first line of defense?
Cue the Empo Footprint, an FDA-listed device that combines high-resolution, full-color foot imaging with body weight measurement. Just step on it like any bathroom scale. It quietly beams your data through a HIPAA-compliant pipeline to the Empo Remote Health Link, where licensed nurses and clinicians are ready to catch issues before they escalate. It’s seamless, secure, and smart enough to detect trouble before it becomes trauma.
And here’s the kicker, sorry, the kicker would’ve been an amputation. Not anymore. In pre-market trials, Empo users showed near-daily engagement with 27 median adherence days per month. Nearly half had early warning signs caught before they knew anything was wrong.
So why are firms like Story Ventures (lead), VTC Ventures, Ulu Ventures, SeaX Ventures, Arben Ventures, and Gaingels pouring fuel into this engine? Because this isn’t just a cool product, it’s an inflection point in diabetic care. And now, Empo has a full tank and a green light to commercialize.
This round doesn’t just bring capital. It brings strategy. With Brian Yormak (Story Ventures), Steve Reale (Ulu Ventures), and Partha Ray (formerly Dexcom and J&J) stepping onto the board, Empo just added some heavy-hitting operational IQ to match its technical swagger.
Want a case study in building something unsexy but deeply necessary? Watch Empo Health. They didn’t chase headlines. They chased outcomes. They earned trust from doctors, dollars from investors, and days of safety for patients who’ve been too easy to overlook. They’re not trying to be loud, they’re trying to be heard where it matters.
