Fitbit founders launch AI platform that helps families monitor their health

Fitbit founders James Park and Eric Friedman have announced the launch of a new AI startup called Luffu, which aims to help families proactively monitor their health. The duo is developing a “smart family care system” that will start with an app and then expand to hardware devices.

Two years after leaving Google, Park and Friedman are betting on artificial intelligence to help ease the mental burden of caregiving. According to A latest report63 million, or nearly 1 in 4 American adults, provide family caregiving, a 45% increase over 10 years.

Luffu uses artificial intelligence in the background to collect and organize family information, learn daily patterns and flag significant changes so families can stay connected and address potential well-being issues.

“At Fitbit, we focused on personal health, but after Fitbit, health for me became more than just thinking about myself,” Park said in an interview with press release. “I was caring for my parents across the country, trying to connect my mother's health care across various websites and providers, with a language barrier that made it difficult to get full, up-to-date context from her about doctor visits. I didn't want to constantly check in, and she didn't want to feel monitored. Luffu was the product we dreamed of – to keep up to date with our family's health, know what had changed, and when to intervene – without being left hanging in the air.”

The pair notes that today's consumer health marketplace is filled with tools for individuals, but in real life, health is shared by partners, children, parents, pets and caregivers. Family information is scattered across devices, portals, calendars, attachments, spreadsheets and paper documents.

With Luffu, people will be able to track details about their entire family, including health stats, diet, medications, symptoms, lab tests, doctor visits, and more. Users can record health information using voice, text or photos. Luffu actively monitors changes and reveals observations and alerts, such as unusual vital signs or changes in sleep.

Couple he told Axios so people can ask simple questions about family health, like “Does Dad's new meal plan affect his blood pressure?” or “Did anyone give the dog medication?”

“We designed Luffu to capture details over time, keep family members informed and reveal what's important at the right time, making care more coordinated and less chaotic,” Friedman said in a press release.

People interested in Luffu can join the waiting list as part of a limited public beta.