 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nutrition |
| Founders | Geoffrey Woo, Michael Brandt |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | United States |
| Website | ketone |
Ketone-IQ is an American company that specializes in manufacturing and distributing a ketone drink. [1] [2] [3] Previously known as Health Via Modern Nutrition, Inc or "HVMN", the company re-branded itself as Ketone-IQ in May 2024. [4] [5]
The company was founded as Nootrobox in 2014 by Geoffrey Woo and Michael Brandt. [6] While forming the company Woo was an Entrepreneur in residence at venture capital firm Foundation Capital, [7] while Brandt worked as a Google employee, a freelance photographer, and an adjunct professor at the Academy of Art University. [8] [9]
In October 2015, the company announced that Silicon Valley angel investors including Marissa Mayer and Mark Pincus had invested $500,000 in the company. [10] In December 2015, Andreessen Horowitz led a $2 million venture capital round in the company. Chris Dixon, who has experience at companies like Soylent, led the investment for Andreessen Horowitz. [11]
In August 2016, the company partnered with 7-Eleven locations in San Francisco. [12] In January 2017, Woo and Brandt were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Consumer Technology. [13] In June 2017, the company changed its name to H.V.M.N., which stands for "Health Via Modern Nutrition". [14] In 2018, HVMN products affiliated with United States Special Operations Command were tested as part of Operation Tech Warrior hosted at the National Center for Medical Readiness. [15] In 2023, HVMN launched in nationwide grocery retail in Sprouts Farmers Market. [16] In 2024, HVMN signed a 3 year partnership with Visma–Lease a Bike (men's team), a top UCI World Tour team. [17]
In 2024, the company re-branded itself as Ketone-IQ and ketone.com, which is the name of the company's primary product. [18]
In November 2017, the company's first commissioned clinical trial found that one of its supplements was less effective in many ways than the caffeine (a cup of coffee) used as the control. The company then asked researchers to change the name of the product to distance it from the analysis. [19] [20] The company, however, linked to the study on their website as of 2018. [21]
On September 13, 2018, HVMN was the nutrition sponsor for cyclist Vittoria Bussi, who broke the UCI Hour record using HVMN Ketone drinks in the training run up and on the day of the world record. [22] In the 2019 Tour de France, multiple cycling teams including Team Jumbo–Visma and Lotto–Soudal confirmed use of ketone ester for performance and recovery. [23]
In 2019, the United States Special Operations Command awarded HVMN a $6M research contract for a two-phase study to investigate impact of ketones on soldier performance at altitude, in mountains, on fighter jets, and in space, and researching how ketones impact cognition, physiological reserve, and oxygen availability under stressors like hypoxia. [24]
In 2016 the company instituted a weekly intermittent fasting day for staff. [25] This was in line with a fad among Silicon Valley companies and workers at that time to use biohacking techniques in the workplace. [26]
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