In Portrait | Noah Labs – Detecting Heart Problems through the Voice
Heart failure, also known as cardiac insufficiency, is the most frequent reason for inpatient hospital stays in Germany, even though patients with chronic heart failure in particular can often avoid a prolonged stay in hospital if the impending decompensation (acute deterioration in heart pump function) is detected in good time. And early detection is precisely what Berlin-based health start-up Noah Lab is focusing on. The company already offers the telemonitoring software Noah Labs Ark, which enables continuous monitoring of patients’ health in their home environment. In the event of critical changes, the software informs the attending physicians or healthcare professionals at an early stage in order to prevent hospital stays.
Successful growth
Noah Labs was founded in 2021 by machine learning engineer Marcus Hott, physician Dr. Leonhard Riehle and economist Oliver Piepenstock. Having started out in a small Berlin office, Noah Labs now has 25 employees at two locations in Berlin and Potsdam, thanks to investments from Business Angels and several rounds of financing. One of Noah Labs’ investors is the DHZB Foundation at Charité. In 2024, equity and grant financing from Nina Capital and Adesso Ventures in the amount of EUR 3 million was added. Noah Labs also has a strategic partnership with DHZC (Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité) for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiovascular diseases.
At the beginning of this year, Noah Labs received another major boost: The company was accepted into the European Innovation Council's Accelerator Program (EIC Accelerator). Almost 1,200 companies had applied for this highly competitive program and only 71 were chosen. For Noah Labs, being accepted into the program means funding in the amount of EUR 11 million for market access, EUR 2.5 million of which will be given as a grant and another EUR 8.5 million in the shape of equity participation over the next few years. And the jury of the renowned Berlin Deep Tech Awards was also convinced by Noah Labs’ developments this year and selected the start-up as the Deep Tech Star in the Artificial Intelligence category.
Noah Labs Vox and Noah Labs Ark
So far, Noah Labs’ success is based on two software offers targeted at sparing heart patients hospital admittances: Noah Labs Vox and Noah Labs Ark. While Noah Labs Vox is still being developed, Noah Labs Ark has been on the market since 2024 and has been approved as a class IIa medical device. The software integrates readings from various medical devices and wearables, such as ECGs, smartwatches, scales and blood pressure cuffs. All measured patient data is displayed in a dashboard, and vital signs and symptoms are sent directly to medical practices and clinics. If the readings are abnormal, the treating physicians can take immediate action. More than 75 practices and clinics already use this telemonitoring function for their patients. Both private and statutory health insurance companies cover the costs if there is a medical indication.
The idea between the second product, Noah Labs Vox, is the following: Heart patients say the same sentence into their phone twice a day. The Noah Labs Vox software then uses AI to detect whether the sound of their voice has changed and informs the attending physician if this is the case. Scientists assume that a larger accumulation of fluid in the body – a sign of cardiac decompensation – leads to a change in the propagation of sound waves and that the patient's voice temporarily changes as a result. While the human ear cannot detect this, the change can be measured by Noah Labs Vox. To prove this, the use of Noah Labs Vox is currently being tested in a large-scale study at the DHZC and the Mayo Clinic in the USA. In this study, the Noah Labs AI analyzes hundreds of parameters in the participants' voice samples, detecting even the smallest changes.
Partnerships in Berlin and throughout the world
Other forms of cooperation connect Noah Labs and Charité, validation studies being one example. The first of these cooperations took place from December 2021 to April 2023 within the framework of the Berlin Start-up Stipendium (BSS). During this incubation period, between 2022 and 2023, the founders of Noah Labs also participated in the mentoring program offered by Humboldt-Innovation GmbH. In 2024, the founding duo became a trio when Dr. Leonhard Riehle, who completed his medical studies at Charité and has conducted clinical studies on the voice, joined Noah Labs. Among others, the start-up also has a partnership with Clínic Barcelona and is a member of the American Heart Association’s innovation network. Noah Labs habitually conducts important clinical trials in Berlin, and regulatory certifications for the company’s software have been carried out by BerlinCert, a certification service provider based in the capital.
The founders appreciate Berlin's proximity to research institutions, access to international talent in the fields of AI and health technology, and the support provided by Berlin Partner and public funding programs. “Berlin combines talent, public funding, academic access and lower operating costs compared to other start-up hubs, such as Munich or San Francisco,” co-founder Oliver Piepenstock recently put it. “The city also promotes strong start-up networks and early adopter communities with an innovative mindset. All of this has helped us to quickly put our ideas into practice and move forward.”
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