- Emerald raised £1.4 million, half from Innovate UK and the other half from venture capital investors.
- In 2026, Emerald said its membership had increased tenfold and that it had carried out more than 100,000 laboratory tests.
- The company aims to reach one million members in the next three years, even as it competes with rivals with much better funding.
Alexander Badalyan and Anton Shchipanov originally planned to launch a premium credit card to compete with Amex and Yonder, but user feedback showed greater interest in health screenings and access to general practitioners. So, they set up Emerald, a preventive health platform, with Dr Dan McNally, which raised £1.4 million in new funding, bringing its total to £2.9 million.
Innovate UK provided Emerald with a £700,000 grant, the company’s second award from the agency, while the remaining £700,000 came from venture capital after the grant. All current investors took part in this funding, along with Boost Capital Partners, and new investors Sequel and Highgoal Capital also joined.
Emerald said its valuation had increased since the previous round, though it did not publish the figures or refer to the specific round.
From credit card idea to GP-led health platform
As we reported in May 2025, the founders altered course early on, switching away from the credit card concept after user interviews revealed strong interest in preventive health benefits. McNally, an NHS clinician, oversees clinical operations.
The company began with £625,000 raised by the European founders, the operators, and professional athletes. In January 2026, Emerald raised another $1.2 million, bringing the pre-seed total to $2 million.
Badalyan, the company’s chief executive, had previously co-founded Mashroom, a proptech and insurtech startup based in the UK. Shchipanov, the chief technology officer, worked on software at Revolut. McNally, the chief medical officer, advised healthtech companies at Oliver Wyman and published London’s first 28-day COVID mortality study.
Emerald, set up in 2024 and headquartered in London, provides blood screening in the clinic, along with an app that combines test results, wearable data, and the individual’s health history. Members are assigned a general practitioner who can diagnose them, prescribe medication, and refer them to either private or NHS care. For instance, if a member has high cholesterol, they can discuss it with their GP for treatment or to arrange a referral.
The company states that it is registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out diagnostic and screening procedures, as well as treat disease, disorder, or injury. It is furthermore approved as a UK Conformity Assessed Class I medical device by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
10x growth
Emerald states that its membership has increased tenfold since early 2026 and that it has carried out more than 100,000 laboratory tests. The company says follow-up screenings show cholesterol levels improving for two out of every three users, blood sugar decreasing by a third, and inflammation dropping by nearly half.
“There’s huge demand for access to simple healthcare tools that move beyond just testing. People want to understand what those results mean and the steps they can take to boost their long-term health — informed by guidance from trusted medical experts,” said Badalyan, Emerald’s co-founder and chief executive.
The startup collaborates with companies such as Pluxee, Epassi, and Yonder, as well as other firms in employee benefits, fintech, and fitness. Employers can add Emerald to their benefits offerings so staff can access screenings and receive follow-up care.
“Achieving this ambition is a cornerstone of the current Government’s … health agenda — but the NHS cannot deliver this shift alone. Government efforts must be matched with innovative solutions that are able to have widespread reach,” added Badalyan.
Market competition and what’s next
The money will fund commercial expansion, product development, and clinical services. The Innovate UK grant will help advance AI applications and core technology. The company had about 12 employees as of January 2026 and has not given a hiring target.
“Through this award, we are supporting Emerald’s development of AI-enabled technology designed to help clinicians deliver more personalised, proactive care. We look forward to seeing the project progress and the impact it could have on health outcomes,” said Chris Sawyer, innovation lead for digital health at Innovate UK.
The companies that compete with Emerald are far larger.
Neko Health, with scanning clinics in London, Manchester and Birmingham, raised $700 million in its Series C financing in July 2026 and has now reached a valuation of nearly $7 billion. Function Heal raised $450 million in growth funding from General Catalyst and says that it has more than 500,000 members. Australia’s Everlab raised AU$65 million in June 2026 and plans to expand into the UK. UK-based Stride raised £4.6 million in seed funding in October 2026, also backed by Innovate UK.
While Neko and Function Health sell scans and lab tests directly to consumers, Emerald combines partner-lab testing with support from general practitioners for prescribing and making referrals, and provides its service via employer benefits platforms.
The preventive healthcare market is large, although forecasts vary. Precedence Research forecasts the global market at $336.17 billion in 2025 and expects it to reach $920.31 billion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of 11.84%. Transparency Market Research, on the other hand, offers a more conservative estimate, predicting the market will reach $773.1 billion by 2034.
Emerald operates by making its service available via benefits platforms, giving access to millions of employees and providing a regulated general practice service for any follow-up care needed.
