Source: GIPHY (The Guardian)
French novelist Victor Hugo once said that “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
This is what it must feel like for the founders of Cue Health, who launched their startup to make easy-to-use testing kits during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
After veering into several different diagnostic tests (fertility, influenza), Cue is now in talks to raise money at a $2B valuation for its rapid COVID test, per The Information.
Delivering results in 20 minutes
The test uses a nasal swab inserted into a cartridge, with results recorded via a mobile app.
Its rapid tests were used during the NBA’s Disney bubble playoffs and, in October, Cue scored a massive $481m contract with the US Department of Defense to develop 100k tests per day by March.
Tons of startups are getting funded
Other notable names include Gauss Surgical, Color Genomics, LetsGetChecked, and Everlywell (which just raised money at a $1.3B valuation).
The Information reports that the accuracy of rapid tests is a concern, particularly with customers not collecting samples correctly.
Solving that issue will go a long way to making another Hugo quote timely: “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
Check out related coverage:
- Everlywell’s CEO Julia Cheek previously appeared on our “My First Million” podcast
- Trends wrote about at-home diagnostics in March
