Healthcare · Profile from Healthcare Research Companion
Noom, Inc.
The New York consumer health company that began as a fitness-app maker, became famous for a psychology-based weight-loss subscription sold through heavy digital advertising, raised $540m at a ~$3.7bn valuation in 2021, then spent 2022–2023 cutting staff, settling an auto-renewal class action and losing its growth story to GLP-1 drugs. It rebuilt itself as a telehealth prescriber that pairs behavioral coaching with branded and compounded GLP-1 medications, and from 2025 with "microdose" compounded semaglutide that put it in open conflict with Eli Lilly.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2008 (some sources give 2007), New York, as WorkSmart Labs; renamed Noom around late 2011 to match its flagship product (reported)
- Founders
- Saeju Jeong (CEO until July 2023, then executive chair) and Artem Petakov (president; formerly a Google engineer, reported)
- Headquarters
- New York, New York
- Ownership / structure
- Private, venture-backed; investors include Silver Lake, Sequoia, Oak HC/FT, Temasek, Novo Holdings, RRE, Samsung Ventures and others (reported)
- Leadership (2026)
- Geoff Cook, CEO (since July 2023; previously co-founder and CEO of The Meet Group); Saeju Jeong, executive chair; Artem Petakov, co-founder (verify current titles)
- Segment and buyer
- Digital health: consumer cash-pay weight management and obesity telehealth (Noom Weight, Noom Med, GLP-1Rx); a smaller employer and health-plan business. The buyer is mainly the individual consumer; employers and plans buy some programs
- Scale
- Revenue ~$237m (2019) and ~$400m (2020), as reported by TechCrunch/Bloomberg; later revenue not disclosed (third-party estimates put it near ~$1bn in 2021–23, unconfirmed); peak headcount several thousand including ~2,000 coaches before 2022 cuts (reported)
- Capital raised / valuation
- ~$650m+ raised in total (reported); Series F $540m led by Silver Lake at ~$3.7bn (May 2021); no later priced round disclosed
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Fitness apps (CardioTrainer); 2016 paid psychology-based coaching subscription; first mobile program with CDC Diabetes Prevention Program recognition (2017); ad-driven growth and Sequoia's 2019 round; 2021 $540m mega-round and expansion beyond weight; $62m auto-renewal settlement (2022); 2022 coach and staff layoffs; Noom Med and GLP-1 Companion with a new CEO (2023); compounded semaglutide GLP-1Rx (2024); microdose GLP-1, loss of the LillyDirect integration and an NAD ruling (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2008
Founding WorkSmart Labs and CardioTrainer
Founding / launch
2016
Psychology Based Coaching Subscription
Pivot / pricing change
2017
CDC DPP Recognition and B2B
Launch / regulatory recognition
2021
Series F 540m and Expansion
Funding round
2022
Auto Renewal Class Action Settlement
Regulatory / legal settlement
2022
Coach Layoffs and Restructuring
Restructuring
2023
Noom Med GLP1 Companion and CEO Change
Pivot / launch (with leadership change)
2024
Compounded Semaglutide GLP1Rx
Launch / pricing change
2025
Microdose GLP1 and Lilly Split
Pivot / pricing change, followed by a partnership termination and advertising ruling