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Stress isn\u2019t just bad for you \u2014 it\u2019s also bad for your employer. Factoring in absenteeism, diminished productivity, turnover, medical costs, and accidents, the non-profit American Institute of Stress estimates that workplace stress costs U.S. businesses over $300 billion annually<\/a>.<\/p>\n One way to measure stress is by monitoring cortisol levels. Even influencers know this, with \u201ccortisol face\u201d<\/a> becoming a trending TikTok topic. But to approach things scientifically, the hormone needs to be measured throughout the day, because it\u2019s variation that matters the most.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the end of the day, we should have the lowest levels,\u201d says Nutrix<\/a> CEO Maria Hahn. Her company\u2019s newly unveiled hardware, CortiSense<\/a>, which measures cortisol in saliva, recently won the CES Innovation Award 2025 in the Digital Health category.<\/p>\n Providing patients with a device instead of having them go to a clinic isn\u2019t just more convenient; it also allows for tracking cortisol levels right after waking up, Hahn told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Developed with the support of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, CortiSense integrates with Nutrix\u2019s digital health platform, gSense<\/a>, which includes a digital health platform, continuous glucose monitoring, AI-powered dietary management, and telemedicine.<\/p>\n This also connects with Nutrix\u2019s initial focus<\/a>: diabetes. While it pivoted its hardware roadmap towards CortiSense, the company\u2019s eye is still on chronic diseases. \u201cCortisol is a hormone that controls many other hormones, so it plays an important role in mental health, but also metabolic health,\u201d the Switzerland-based entrepreneur said.<\/p>\n This vision helped Nutrix gain support from Swiss innovation agency, Innosuisse, as well as private investment. The startup raised $4 million to date, including a previously unannounced $2.5 million seed round co-led by Polish impact fund Simpact and Japan deep tech fund OIST-Lifetime Ventures. Mayo Clinic also came on-board, after meeting the team at CES 2024.<\/p>\n The startup is seeking to raise a large Series A round to fund its expansion, but its seed round has already kicked off the U.S. launch of CortiSense. With support from the Mayo Clinic, it is planning to open offices in Silicon Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nutrix isn\u2019t new to market expansion; its gSense platform is integrated with the public insurance system in Chile, a country where it received support from public program, Start-Up Chile. In 2024, the Swiss health tech startup also launched operations in Mexico and Peru.<\/p>\n What\u2019s new for Nutrix, however, is the pushback<\/a> over a model that targets corporations, rather than consumers. While less common in the U.S., in countries such as Chile, Mexico<\/a>, and Peru, health screenings are part of an employers\u2019 obligation to strive for employee wellness, with an understanding that private health data remains private.<\/p>\n With the U.S. now at the top of Nutrix\u2019s CortiSense roadmap, Hahn will have to get used to clarifying \u201cthe company will only get the aggregated data.\u201d And while a utilitarian pitch around the economic costs of job stress may seem distasteful to some, it may also serve as a reminder to employers that mental health is, indeed, health.<\/p>\n Cortisol is, \u201calso extremely important in women\u2019s health, especially in the perimenopause and menopause, but it\u2019s also a space that was very abandoned from the research and studies point of view,\u201d Hahn said. She now plans to use some of Nutrix\u2019s funding to conduct further investigations into these ties. \u201cFor me as a woman, that\u2019s also very important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n