Swiss Health Tech Startup, Aktiia, Names Industry Veteran, Rags Gupta, New CEO, As Part of Global Push to Transform Blood Pressure Monitoring and Management
Neuchâtel, Switzerland — August 1, 2024 — Aktiia, the Series A Swiss startup transforming Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring and management backed by Khosla Ventures, Red Alpine, Molten Ventures and Translink, Verve and 415 Capital, announces the appointment of Raghav ”Rags” Gupta as its new CEO and a member of the Board of Directors.
Since its commercial launch in 2021, Aktiia has amassed the largest, longitudinal BP dataset of its kind with over 11 B optical signals and 300 million cardiovascular data points from over 80,000 users. This dataset serves as the foundation for Aktiia’s Al-driven BP Intelligence Platform comprising BP measurement, management and novel research insights.
A seasoned and entrepreneurial technology operator with a track record of growth and commercialization, Rags brings a wealth of experience across consumer, enterprise and deep tech domains.
Rags has operated at the intersection of technology and market inflections for most of his career, from the early days of the Web, to cloud and SaaS at Brightcove, Videoplaza and Ooyala, to sensing and deeptech more recently at Humatics, Butlr, and as an Operating Partner at Hyperplane.
Rags Gupta said: “Aktiia’s mission to reduce the impact of blood pressure on global health is deeply personal. Add to this the novel technology thot’s already achieved product market fit and improved patient outcomes, the unique dataset, the talented, dedicated team, and it makes for o once-in-career opportunity. I’m thrilled to be joining at such on inflection point in the business. It’s time to scale.””
Aktiia’s CE-marked continuous blood pressure monitor is currently available in seven European markets. Earlier this year, Aktiia received CE approval for its next generation CALFREE(tm) technology which utilizes optical sensors that do not require calibration with a traditional cuff. This significantly improves user convenience and adaptability for a variety of third-party devices, while still meeting the stringent BP accuracy and precision thresholds to be medically valid. Additional regulatory submissions are underway in markets including the U.S.
Built on 20+ years of research, Aktiia’s technology provides unparalleled innovation and ease in blood pressure data collection and machine learning modeling, offering personalized, continuous, and medical-grade blood pressure and heart rate data. Aktiia empowers people, researchers, and clinicians with unique blood pressure data paving the way for novel understanding and personalized patient care of hypertension.
“Rags’s strategic vision, entrepreneurial track record and ability to operate across cultures and domains really stood out to us during our search process and we’re thrilled to hove him join at on inflection point for our business”, said Daniel Graf, President and Board member.
“From the time we spent together, it was clear that Rags had the strategic insight, operational experience and cultural fluency to be our next CEO”, said Aktiia co-founder, Mattia Bertschi, who will remain as COO. “We are proud to have him on board as our recent regulatory wins, ongoing research and real world adoption drive the next phase of Aktiia’s growth.”
Aktiia’s mission has never been more critical, with over 1.4 billion people worldwide affected by high blood pressure, resulting in more than 18 million related deaths annually. The company is dedicated to changing the paradigm of blood pressure management, making it more accessible, accurate, and actionable for people worldwide.
About Aktiia:
Founded in Switzerland in May 2018, Aktiia was created out of a passion to develop the best products for diagnosing and treating hypertension. Founders Drs. Mattia Bertschi (CEO) and josep Solò (CTO) spent 15 years at the prestigious Swiss research institute CSEM, deciphering the language of the heart to deepen their understanding of blood pressure. Today, Aktiia’s global, diverse team of over 50 extraordinary individuals is combining years of innovative research with AI model training and fine tuning from a unique, growing dataset into a global healthcare solution, offering the most complete and intuitive blood pressure monitoring and management tools on the market.