Analysis

July 18, 2024

The Kry founders factory: Meet 15 employees-turned-founders

More than half have launched digital health startups but there are also SaaS platforms, a climate tech, an edtech and a secondhand fashion startup


Swedish startup Kry has been a darling of Europe’s digital health sector for years. 

Since the start of 2020, it’s raised more than $600m according to Dealroom, and was one of a crop of patient-facing healthtechs that flourished during Covid.  

While things got a little dicier in the period that followed — Kry laid off hundreds of employees and pulled out of international markets during a turbulent 2022 — the company reported that it was profitable in all three of its remaining markets earlier this year. 

Like fellow healthtechs Babylon and Doctolib, Kry has also become a founders factory in recent years — and Sifted has tracked down 15 former employees-turned-entrepreneurs. 

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More than half have, unsurprisingly, launched digital health startups. But there’s also a couple of SaaS platforms, a climate tech, an edtech and a secondhand fashion startup.

If we’ve missed any Kry alumni who’ve gone on to become founders, please get in touch at kai@sifted.eu.

Steep

Johan Baltzar, Steep founder

Founded: 2021

Funding: €5.25m

HQ: Stockholm

Founded by former head of analytics at Kry Johan Baltzar (who also worked at Swedish tech success stories iZettle and Spotify) Steep is a data and analytics platform for businesses. It announced its €4m seed round earlier this month. 

Terra Labs

Adam von Corswant and Peder Stahle, Terra Labs founders

Founded: 2023

Funding: Around €5m

HQ: Stockholm

Terra Labs is a climate tech which helps forest owners monitor their land using satellites and AI. The idea is that by using real-time data and insights, forest owners will be able to run more sustainable and efficient operations. It was founded by former Kry chief product officer Peder Stahle and raised a seed round from Norrsken VC in March this year. Terra Labs is currently in beta.

Mantle 

Picture of Josefin Landgård, cofounder of Kry and Mantle.

Founded: 2019

Funding: $4.6m, according to Dealroom

HQ: Stockholm

Founded by Kry cofounder and the company’s first CEO, Josefin Landgård, Mantle is a skincare brand, selling CBD oil and face creams to help promote wellness. 

Myota Health

Thomas Gurry and Katherine Stennett, Myota cofounders

Founded: 2021

Funding: €3m

HQ: London

Founded by former Kry business development director Katherine Stennett, Myota Health sells prebiotic supplements and microbiome testing kits direct-to-consumer. It's raised from investors including FoodLabs and Peakbridge.

Hemi Health

Sune K-Holm Nielsen (top left) and Hemi founding team

Founded: 2024

Funding: €2.1m

HQ: Copenhagen

Hemi is a digital health clinic focusing on treatment for headaches. It provides virtual consultations with doctors, digital monitoring through an app and care plans. Hemi was founded by former Kry Norway country manager Benedicte Grytte Dahl and business development director Sune K-Holm Nielsen. The startup plans to raise again in spring 2025. 

Circle Health

Peter Malmqvist and Jannik Tiedemann, Circle Health founders

Founded: 2023

Funding: €2m

HQ: Berlin

Circle Health is a digi-physical private health clinic. It offers alternative therapies including intermittent hypoxia-hyperoxia treatment (IHHT) — which is said to boost energy — and ozone therapy — which advocates say can help fight disease but has limited clinical evidence. It also offers traditional therapy like acupuncture and osteopathy. It was founded by former Kry global operations director Jannik Tiedemann. 

Ripe

Founded: 2021

Funding: $2m, according to Dealroom

HQ: Stockholm

Ripe is a customer engagement platform for SaaS teams that lets companies automate sales workflows. It was founded by Jonatan Dykert, who was a product manager at Kry. Investors include Earlybird VC.

Ayd

Johan Flodin, Ayd founder

Founded: 2022

Funding: €1.2m

HQ: Malmö

Founded by former Kry chief medical officer Johan Flodin, Ayd is a digital health clinic which sells treatments and medication for men’s health including hair loss, erectile dysfunction and weight loss. Flodin tells Sifted the startup has more than 5k paying customers and made more than €200k in monthly sales in May. Ayd plans to raise a seed round later this year. 

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Mai 

Founded: 2022

Funding: €1m

HQ: Stockholm

Mai is a secondhand fashion startup, which automatically lists sellers’ items on several marketplaces at the same time and adds information about the garment using AI. It was founded by Emma Rosman, who led several business development teams at Kry. 

Nuroe

Founded: 2023

Funding: Around $200k

HQ: Stockholm

Founded by former director of product at Kry Hoa Ly, Nuroe is a gamified app for children to accelerate their learning. The startup launched on the iOS App Store in June and Ly tells Sifted the company has already hit break even and isn’t looking to raise funding. 

Uneri

Founded: 2024

Funding: Bootstrapped

HQ: Paris

Uneri is a mental health platform, offering consultations with medical professionals like psychologists and hypnotherapists, alongside alternative mental health practitioners like sophrologists. It also provides access to self-learning resources. Uneri was founded by Mathis Guiziou, who worked in the marketing team at Kry.

Femcare

Founded: 2023

Funding: Bootstrapped

HQ: Stockholm

Femcare is a digital health clinic for women, focusing on menopause care, treatment for conditions like premenstrual syndrome and contraception and dietary advice. It was founded by former Kry employees Elisabeth Rosen, who was previously the medical director for women's health at the company, and Karl-Johan Sturesson, who headed up business development for Kry. 

EndoGyn

Founded: 2023

Funding: Undisclosed

HQ: Stockholm

EndoGyn is a digi-physical health clinic for women, focusing on gynaecology, sexual health and pregnancy care. It was founded by Anders Rindevall, who was a partnerships manager at Kry. 

Kai Nicol-Schwarz

Kai Nicol-Schwarz is a reporter at Sifted. He covers UK tech and healthtech, and can be found on X and LinkedIn