Platos Health unveils Platos 3.0 alongside $1.4M pre-seed round backed by Google for Startups
Lagos-based healthtech startup, Platos Health has launched Platos 3.0, marking a major step forward in its mission to shift African healthcare from reactive treatment to proactive, data-driven prevention. The announcement comes alongside a $1.4 million pre-seed funding round backed by Google for Startups, aimed at scaling its platform, advancing its technology, and strengthening partnerships across the continent.
The $1.4 million pre-seed round was led by Google for Startups, Invest International, and a group of angel investors from Google, Tesla, and Unicredit, signalling strong confidence in Africa’s growing healthtech sector and the urgent need for scalable preventive healthcare infrastructure in Africa.
Launched in 2020 by Oladimeji Joseph Fakayode, Platos Health claims it`s the first Nigerian healthtech startup to introduce a fully digital diabetes care solution to address patients with diabetes. In a bid to expand, it has evolved its offerings to include health tracking devices for the masses.
Platos 3.0 marks the third major evolution of Platos Health’s product suites. It`s first was Zest, a fully digital diabetes care tool, which helped digitise healthcare access in Nigeria by enabling appointment bookings and digital health records.
According to reports, Zest served thousands of users and gained recognition through partnerships and a feature in the International Journal of Diabetes and Technology (IJDT). With the launch of Platos 3.0, however, Platos Health is now repositioning itself as a proactive care platform aimed at helping users and healthcare providers prevent diseases before they occur.
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Platos 3.0 introduces the Platos Monitor, an AI-powered device built on Google’s Gemini AI, to keep track of metrics like weight, body fat, hydration, muscle, and bone mass. For people who want to keep an eye on key health markers, Platos 3.0 also detects blood pressure and blood sugar, and gives a personalised health insight and recommendation for the human health journey while helping users to make smarter choices to enhance their lifestyle.
According to the company, Platos 3.0 integrates user data from health assessments, wearables and behaviour patterns to provide continuous health insights and early warnings. The platform offered tailored health plans and risk alerts designed to encourage early intervention.
By combining these features, the tool aims to empower individuals and healthcare providers with facilities to prevent conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses before they become life-threatening, which, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like these are responsible for over 37% of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
An internal analysis by the healthtech startup, revealed that 68% of its customers were overweight, 34% with normal BMI but had unhealthy levels of body fat, and 31% showing signs of lean diabetes which in the long run leads to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, and obesity.
“We saw a gap. Health isn’t just clinical; it’s personal,” said Platos Health founder and chief executive Oladimeji Joseph Fakayode. “Platos Monitor brings that power to Nigerians first.”
Since its inception, it claims 33% of its users lost over 5% weight within three months, and 59.4% said they would be disappointed without Platos Monitor which according to the team is currently distributed across over 300 pharmacies in Nigeria, including Medplus, Justrite, Purelife, and Alpha Pharmacy, and each device costs between $50 and $80.
With the $ 1.4 million pre-seed funding locked in, Platos Health promises to continue building healthtech tools, enhance the company’s AI capabilities, grow its partnerships with clinics and insurers, and scale its reach across key African markets.
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