A San Francisco–based startup called Superpower emerged from stealth today with a promise to give ordinary consumers the kind of deep‑dive health screening normally reserved for elite athletes and CEOs. For $499 a year, members complete two comprehensive blood panels—each measuring more than 100 biomarkers across 21 body systems—either at home or at one of 2,000 partner labs. Results feed into a secure web platform that also ingests data from wearables, genetic reports, and past medical records. An AI engine turns that information into a personalized dashboard showing a single Superpower Score, a calculated Biological Age, and red‑, yellow‑, and green‑flag categories that reveal where a user is thriving and where silent risks may be brewing.
“Think of it as credit‑monitoring for your body,” says co‑founder Max Marchione. “You wouldn’t check your bank balance once a year—why treat your health that way?”
The idea grew out of the founders’ own medical nightmares. Co‑founder Jacob Peters racked up $2 million in bills battling multiple undiagnosed disorders. Marchione spent years shuttling among 20 specialists before finally learning what was wrong, and Kevin Unkrich lost his best friend to a brain tumor diagnosed just two days before a scheduled MRI. They realized their stories were hardly unique: an estimated 40 percent of Americans live with conditions that could have been prevented—or at least treated earlier—if proactive testing and coherent data had been the norm.
Superpower’s base subscription covers those twice‑yearly blood draws, AI analysis, curated education, and 24/7 chat with an AI‑plus‑human concierge. For extra fees, members can order specialty tests such as Grail’s Galleri multi‑cancer screen, a gut‑microbiome work‑up, or advanced hormone, fertility, and metabolic panels. When an abnormality turns up—say, a spike in thyroid markers or a plunge in omega‑3 levels—the platform not only flags the issue but also connects the member with vetted clinicians and nutritionists inside an integrated marketplace.
“This is really where the journey starts,” explains Peters. “Superpower becomes the new front door to healthcare—everything under one roof, so you finally have a lifelong partner looking after your well‑being.”
Investors see plenty of upside. Superpower just closed a $30 million Series A led by Forerunner, with celebrity checks from Vanessa Hudgens, DJ Steve Aoki, and NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other backers include Day One Ventures, Susa Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Opal Ventures, Visible Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, and several more. The funding will help expand lab capacity, refine the AI engine, and build native iOS and Android apps; for now, the service is web‑only.
Although the founders emphasize that Superpower does not replace primary‑care physicians, they aim to become the first stop for health queries. “Google and generic chatbots don’t know your biology,” Marchione notes. “When people come to us, we have their longitudinal data plus clinician‑vetted knowledge—and that means answers that are personal, accurate, and actionable.”
Superpower joins a broader movement to shift healthcare from reactive to predictive. If the company can shepherd its 150,000‑person wait‑list into paying members—and maintain trust as it scales—it could help many users catch diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, or even early‑stage cancers long before symptoms appear.
“Our vision,” Peters adds, “is a world where no one is blindsided by preventable disease. We’re building the tools to make that future real.”
