Humanity Launches Anti-Aging App in the UK

The Rise of Age-Defying Apps and Humanity's New Approach

Numerous smartphone application startups have attempted to persuade users that their software can effectively mitigate the effects of aging and physical decline. Several examples readily come to mind: Gyroscope, MyFitnessPal, Welltory, ActivityTracker, and SleepCycle. The proliferation of health-focused apps continues to expand, offering solutions for virtually every wellness need.

Now, a novel application is available for download, asserting its capability to genuinely decelerate the aging process.

Humanity's Seed Funding and Expansion

We previously reported on Humanity’s initial $2.5 million seed funding round late last year.

The iPhone application is now accessible for download within the U.K., with an Android version planned for release. A global launch, including the U.S., is scheduled for the first week of September. While a free version exists, a premium subscription at £30 annually will provide continuous monitoring of a user’s biological age and the factors influencing it.

The U.K.-based startup has demonstrably captured the attention of investors.

A further seed funding round, totaling $2.5 million, has been secured from 65 investors specializing in health-tech and consumer-tech, bringing the total funding raised to $5 million.

Notable Investors and Scientific Advisory Board

Investors include Alex Tew and Michael Acton-Smith, co-founders of Calm; Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of Wise and a founding team member of Skype; Robin Thurston, co-founder of MyFitnessPal; One Way Ventures; 7Percent; Seedcamp; Breega; Alexander Ljung, CEO and co-founder of Soundcloud; and esteemed health tech investor Esther Dyson.

Founders Pete Ward and Michael Geer have assembled a distinguished “Science Advisory Board.”

This board comprises Kristen Fortney, co-founder of BioAge; George Church, a Harvard Medical School professor and key contributor to mapping the Human Genome; and Aubrey de Grey, a leading figure in aging science and chief science officer at the SENS Research Foundation.

Strategic Launch and User Growth

Humanity has strategically employed an invite-only approach, mirroring the tactics used by startups like Clubhouse, to generate excitement and facilitate beta-testing. The app has already reached over 10,000 users, with a substantial waiting list reportedly numbering in the “tens of thousands.”

This strategy has proven successful, with the startup reaching the maximum user capacity on Apple’s TestFlight platform and experiencing consistent growth in its waiting list.

Ward and Geer conceived the app over two years ago, aiming to create a tool capable of tracking biological age and offering guidance on slowing – and potentially reversing – the aging process. This concept aligns with established scientific principles.

How Humanity Differs from Existing Health Apps

Healthcare professionals routinely advise that lifestyle choices such as regular exercise and a healthy diet can extend lifespan. However, Ward and Geer recognized the potential to benchmark these recommendations against data from a broader population.

The core innovation of the Humanity app isn’t simply informing users that they’ve slowed their aging due to adequate sleep; it’s that this assessment is made relative to a real-world data set of individuals with similar age and health profiles.

Humanity distinguishes itself by leveraging scientific databases, rather than relying solely on data from its user base.

Geer explained: “Aging is the primary driver of disease globally, yet many fail to connect it to their overall health – and most feel powerless to address it. ‘Healthy’ is subjective and varies for each person. Monitoring your aging provides a comprehensive health indicator, potentially reducing disease risk and extending healthy lifespans.”

Timing and Societal Impact

Humanity’s launch is particularly timely, given the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on life expectancy in England and Wales, which has decreased by one year, effectively reversing a decade of progress, with vulnerable populations disproportionately affected.

The Functionality of the Humanity App

How does the application function in practice?

Humanity positions its app as analogous to the Waze traffic app, guiding users toward a healthier lifestyle and “adding years of fully functional, healthy life,” thereby maximizing healthy lifespan rather than merely prolonging life with potential health limitations.

Upon registration, users provide basic information like age and weight and connect the app to Apple Health.

This process generates a “Humanity Score” (H Score) across four key areas: movement, mind, recovery, and nutrition. A higher H Score suggests a greater likelihood of slowing or reversing the aging process, according to the startup.

The app integrates with smartphone sensors and wearable devices to collect data on heart rate, step rate, sleep patterns, and activity levels. This data informs the user’s “rate of aging” and “biological age,” analyzed in comparison to data from the UK Biobank.

The "Special Sauce": Data and Algorithms

This is where Humanity’s unique value proposition lies.

The startup asserts that its algorithms have been validated against real-world outcomes from longitudinal biobanks, including the UK Biobank. These biobanks contain anonymized data on factors influencing population lifespan. Humanity also highlights its in-house research and development, collaborations with Gero and Chronomics, and partnerships with Illumina and Eurofins.

Based on this comprehensive data analysis, the app provides personalized recommendations, such as suggestions to exercise, meditate, or prioritize sleep. While other apps offer similar advice, Humanity’s foundation in real-world data enhances its credibility.

Privacy Considerations

Addressing privacy concerns, Geer stated: “Health data is deeply personal. We prioritize keeping as much data as possible locally on the user’s phone, running algorithms primarily on-device. Some data transmission to our servers is necessary, but it’s encrypted both during transit and at rest. We maintain strict security for the limited data we store.”

Future Vision and Ecosystem Integration

Is Humanity aiming to supplant existing health apps? What is the long-term vision?

Ward clarified: “We’re not seeking to replace apps like Calm or MyFitnessPal; they’ll be part of the ecosystem we integrate with. Our goal is to serve as a benchmark for data utilization, demonstrating whether people are genuinely becoming healthier. Previously, this type of health data was confined to university research participants. We want to empower everyone to compare their lifestyle to this real-world data, an approach we believe is far more effective than traditional ‘health app’ models.”

The Potential for Biobank Data Utilization

A broader question arises: are we witnessing the emergence of a new opportunity for startups to leverage the vast Biobank data generally held by academic institutions worldwide? It’s plausible that more startups will emerge, seeking to utilize this data in similar ways to Humanity. Only time will tell. However, for the present, Humanity holds a competitive advantage.