Celebrating Tiny Health's Series A: A Letter From Cheryl Sew Hoy

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Cheryl Sew Hoy

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Last updated on

August 7, 2024

Tiny Health's CEO and Founder, Cheryl Sew Hoy

Summary

Our gut health report gives you deep insights into your baby's gut health. See a sample

I’m thrilled to announce Tiny Health’s $8.5 million Series A round led by Spero Ventures, alongside partners Overwater Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Modi Ventures, Tamarisc, Cartan Capital, and Taylor Sittler, Co-founder and Former Chief Science Officer of Color Genomics. Existing investors TheVentureCity, Conscience VC, and North South Ventures also participated, reinforcing their commitment and bringing our total funding to $13 million.

I’m filled with gratitude and especially humbled by the investment of longtime Tiny Health customers and angels at Parenthood Ventures, validating the very real impact we are making on families like my own.

In 2020, I embarked on a profoundly personal journey founding Tiny Health, beginning not in a boardroom but in the tender moments watching my daughter grapple with eczema, sleep troubles, and food sensitivities. Her struggles ignited a fire in me—a desperate quest for answers not only for my child but for countless families facing similar challenges.

I dove head-first into scientific research and discovered the transformative power of healing the gut microbiome. This realization became the driving force behind Tiny Health.

Frustrated by the absence of infant-specific gut tests in the market, I took action to provide parents like myself with the tools and knowledge they needed. After two grueling years of R&D building our scientific foundation with Ruben Mars and Kim Sukhum, and with Ritika Khilnani leading product, we launched the first-ever at-home gut health test for babies in 2022. Shortly after, Donald Koo joined me as co-founder. And in just two years, we’ve helped over 25,000 families on their path to better health.

Our work has never been more urgent. Nearly 50% of children in the U.S. have at least one chronic health condition. Families like mine find themselves navigating the challenges of eczema, asthma, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune diseases.

We’re in a pediatric chronic conditions crisis.

But microbiome science offers a beacon of hope: detecting and addressing gut imbalances—particularly in the crucial first 1,000 days of life—can help prevent long-term chronic illness.

Before and after photos of a baby's arm showing improvement in eczema after dietary changes and probiotic treatment

About a couple weeks ago we started Judah on two different probiotic strains to his specific need & strains that help eczema. Added in some HMOs & digestive enzymes These are things that specific to his needs not just a general suggestion! As well as incorporating new veggies and fibers each week to diversify his diet. We've been able to have gluten a hand full of times without insane flare ups. And his skin is looking better since before we implemented the protocol. Things are looking up! We plan to retest in a few months to see where his levels are - Arianna Tucker via Instagram

This announcement comes on the heels of almost two years of immense growth, expanding our reach to offer whole-family gut health and vaginal health testing, and the launch of our B2B arm, poweredbytiny.com, having already served and partnered with companies like DYPER, Begin Health, Labcorp, Obvio Health, Astarte Medical, GritWell and more.

As we continue to grow, we stand firm in our commitment to our values, putting our community first, and further research and innovation to improve the health outcomes of future generations.

Special thanks to our entire Tiny team and new board members Sara Eshelman from Spero and Laura González-Estéfani from TVC — we wouldn’t be here without their unwavering belief in our mission. Our important work has only just begun.