Prabowo Widodo
At first glance, the newest diagnostic device from health-tech firm PNOĒ resembles the intimidating, face-covering apparatus worn by the comic-book villain Bane. The mask secures snugly over the nose and mouth, anchoring around the back of the head. Yet, its underlying purpose is entirely clinical and wellness-oriented rather than villainous. The hardware measures precise oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide exhalation, converting raw respiratory data into actionable insights regarding nutrition, athletic training regimens, and long-term health optimization.
Headquartered in Malden, Massachusetts, with significant operational facilities in Athens, Greece, PNOĒ is preparing for the commercial rollout of its flagship PNOĒ 2.0 system. The forthcoming iteration introduces a major technological shift: complete self-administration. Unlike previous generations of the technology, which required a trained operator to oversee the assessment, the new device allows end-users to conduct the test independently. According to co-founder and chief executive officer Apostolos Atsalakis, an individual can simply step into a partner facility, put on the mask, sit down, and breathe steadily for an eight-minute duration without specialized staff supervision.
This operational autonomy represents a significant commercial hurdle cleared for the company. By eliminating the necessity for certified metabolic technicians, PNOĒ can seamlessly expand its footprint into unstaffed boutique fitness centers, corporate wellness hubs, and even neighborhood pharmacies.
The Evolution of Metabolic Science
The foundational scientific principles governing PNOĒ’s technology are well-established. Metabolic gas analysis has served as a cornerstone of exercise physiology for more than a century. By analyzing the precise chemical composition of exhaled breath, scientists can determine exactly how the human body converts macronutrients into usable cellular energy.
For decades, this methodology has constituted the clinical gold standard for quantifying VO₂ max—the maximum volume of oxygen an individual can utilize during exhaustive physical exertion. Widely recognized as a definitive metric of cardiorespiratory fitness, VO₂ max correlates strongly with overall cardiovascular health and life expectancy. However, traditional metabolic assessment has historically depended upon cumbersome, expensive stationary equipment restricted to elite sports science laboratories, university research departments, and elite hospital clinics. Consequently, these insights remained largely inaccessible to the general public, preserved primarily for professional athletes and corporate executives participating in specialized wellness programs.
Celebrating its tenth year of operations, PNOĒ aims to bridge this accessibility gap by packaging clinical-grade precision into a portable, user-friendly format, coupled with proprietary software that automatically translates complex physiological data into personalized lifestyle guidance.
Capturing Biomarkers for Longevity
The PNOĒ testing protocol captures 23 distinct physiological biomarkers during a single session. Beyond measuring VO₂ max, the system evaluates resting metabolic rate—quantifying the precise number of calories an individual burns while at complete rest—and metabolic flexibility, which measures the body’s metabolic efficiency in switching between lipid and carbohydrate oxidation.
Atsalakis emphasizes that these sophisticated metrics address vital physiological inquiries that standard routine blood panels simply cannot answer. Blood tests provide valuable snapshots of biochemistry, but they fail to reveal dynamic energy expenditure, caloric requirements, or optimal cardiovascular conditioning thresholds.
The timing of this product launch aligns favorably with broader cultural and wellness trends. Cardiorespiratory fitness and VO₂ max have rapidly transitioned from specialized medical terminology into mainstream health buzzwords, driven by mounting scientific literature linking higher cardiovascular capacity to reduced all-cause mortality. Atsalakis characterizes VO₂ max as arguably the single strongest predictive indicator of human longevity, positioning his company’s diagnostic metrics as an essential scorecard for the rapidly expanding global longevity economy.
Engineering and Hygiene Innovations
Developing the PNOĒ 2.0 required an extensive engineering overhaul. The hardware is substantially more compact, lighter, and structurally simpler than its predecessor, a transition that Atsalakis notes significantly improves mechanical reliability. To achieve this, the company collaborated closely with Milan-based Design Group Italia, enduring numerous design iterations to engineer the world’s first self-administered metabolic testing architecture.
Furthermore, the design successfully resolves a prominent hygiene concern for post-pandemic consumers: hardware sharing. The advanced electronic sensory components detach entirely from the medical-grade silicone mask and fabric head straps. This modular approach allows commercial venues to invest in expensive core electronics while permitting individual customers to retain their own personal, hygienic masks.
Regulatory Positioning and Future Horizons
Despite its sophisticated clinical design, PNOĒ maintains a conservative regulatory stance. The device currently lacks clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and company leadership is explicit about its intended scope. Atsalakis confirms that PNOĒ does not issue medical diagnoses or clinical prescriptions.
Instead, the platform operates firmly within the consumer wellness and fitness domain. Drawing a functional comparison, Atsalakis likens the device to advanced body composition scales found in modern gyms. While the insights are highly detailed, primary care physicians do not currently prescribe pharmaceutical interventions based strictly on PNOĒ outputs.
Nevertheless, the long-term roadmap envisions potential clinical integration. Medical researchers have long investigated whether volatile organic compounds and breath biomarkers can signal early-stage oncological developments or chronic systemic pathologies. Atsalakis acknowledges that while the company’s expanding database of respiratory telemetry could eventually assist in preventative health screening, full diagnostic capabilities remain several years away, contingent upon rigorous regulatory pathways and clinical validations.
Origins and Venture Backing
PNOĒ’s corporate lineage traces back to Atsalakis’s doctoral research in advanced sensing technologies at the University of Cambridge. During a period of explosive growth in consumer wearable technology, Atsalakis became fascinated by the underutilized diagnostic potential of human respiration. He subsequently co-founded the enterprise alongside childhood friend Panos Papadiamantis, who currently serves as chief product officer.
The startup’s trajectory accelerated following its acceptance into the competitive Y Combinator Winter 2019 cohort, well before the longevity sector attracted its current wave of venture capital. To date, PNOĒ has secured approximately $22 million in total equity financing. This includes an $11 million funding round backed by prominent institutional investors, including early-stage fund 50 Years and Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen, who maintains operations in Athens.
B2B Distribution Model and Market Penetration
Rather than selling directly to individual consumers, PNOĒ employs a strict business-to-business (B2B) distribution model. Fitness facilities, hospitality brands, and clinical institutions purchase the system and subsequently offer the assessments as a value-added service to their members or patients.
The client roster includes major industry operators such as Equinox—where the technology is integrated across nearly all club locations—alongside luxury hospitality groups like Four Seasons, elite athletic organizations including Red Bull and the National Basketball Association, the Mount Sinai Health System, and prominent medical spa franchise Restore Hyper Wellness.
Geographically, the United States accounts for roughly 85% of total corporate revenues. Atsalakis describes the U.S. market as the most sophisticated and receptive global environment for longevity-focused products. Concurrently, the firm is aggressively expanding its direct footprint across Europe and facilitating international distribution in Latin America and Asia through strategic channel partnerships.
Commercial partners subscribe to the service through monthly fees ranging from $400 to upwards of $1,000. This subscription model bundles hardware, diagnostic software, staff training modules, and co-branded marketing assets—a comprehensive package Atsalakis describes as a turnkey "business in a box." Many partner facilities incorporate the assessment directly into their customer onboarding processes, bridging the gap between clinical health evaluations and the generalized activity estimates provided by consumer smartwatches.
Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook
PNOĒ occupies a crowded middle tier within the broader health technology landscape. On the consumer end, major hardware ecosystems including Apple, Garmin, and Whoop estimate cardiovascular metrics like VO₂ max using continuous heart-rate telemetry, while dedicated consumer breath analyzers like Lumen track metabolic fuel utilization. Conversely, traditional cart-based metabolic testing systems continue to dominate high-end clinical research settings.
Employing a global workforce of 110 professionals, PNOĒ reports that it has recently achieved corporate profitability while sustaining annual revenue growth exceeding 100%. Looking forward, leadership anticipates initiating a Series B funding round within the next six to twelve months. As the company prepares for the commercial launch of PNOĒ 2.0 on October 1, its overarching objective remains clear: bringing clinical-grade respiratory diagnostics to the masses, Bane-inspired mask aesthetics notwithstanding.
