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Draft:TinyHealth

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Tiny Health
Company typeCorporation
IndustryHealth Technology & Research
Founded2020
FounderCheryl Sew Hoy
HeadquartersTexas
Area served
US & International
Websitewww.tinyhealth.com

Tiny Health is a U.S.-based health technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas, that provides microbiome testing for infants, children, and adults. Founded in 2020 by entrepreneur Cheryl Sew Hoy, the company makes available at-home gut and vaginal tests using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, as well as stool chemistry tests for healthcare providers[1]. Its platform provides reports analyzing microbiome composition based on test results.

History

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Tiny Health was founded by Cheryl Sew Hoy following her child's health issues [2]. Tiny Health introduced its at-home Baby Gut Health Test in 2022 [1]. Since then, the company introduced microbiome tests for pregnancy and postpartum, as well as for childhood, adulthood, and vaginal health. Tiny Health’s tests analyze microbial strains and their functional insights, with results reported for both consumers and healthcare practitioners [3]. In 2024, The Washington Post profiled Tiny Health in an article on the rise of direct-to-consumer medical testing [4]. Tiny Health raised $8.5 million in a Series A funding round in 2024 [3] and launched its B2B platform, Powered by Tiny. In 2025, Tiny Health expanded operations to the European Union, Canada, and Mexico through B2B partnerships, and was named 'Start-up of the Year' by NutraIngredients-USA [5].

Funding

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Prior to its Series A, Tiny Health raised approximately US$4.5 million in seed funding, led by TheVentureCity, to develop its first at-home microbiome test for expectant parents and infants.[6]. In March 2024, Axios reported that Tiny Health raised US$8.5 million in a Series A round led by Spero Ventures with participation from Overwater Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, Peterson Ventures, and others [7]. Forbes noted that customers of Tiny Health funded 25 percent of the round.[8].

Leadership

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Founder and CEO Cheryl Sew Hoy

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Cheryl Sew Hoy is the founder and CEO of Tiny Health. She holds a bachelor's degree in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering and a master's degree in Engineering Management and Data Mining from Cornell University.[9] Before founding Tiny Health, Sew Hoy co-founded Reclip.It, which was acquired by Walmart Labs in 2013,[10] and served as the founding CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC).[11]. In 2022, CNBC interviewed Sew Hoy regarding her role as CEO of Tiny Health [12].

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elisa Song, MD

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Elisa Song is a pediatrician trained at Stanford, NYU, and UCSF.[13][14],[15]. She is the founder of the parenting resource Healthy Kids Happy Kids[13] and the author of Healthy Kids, Happy Kids: An Integrative Pediatrician’s Guide to Whole Child Resilience [16].

Products and services

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Tiny Health offers at-home gut and vaginal microbiome testing for all ages, including options used by healthcare practitioners. Its tests use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to analyze microbial species, strains, and functions, providing reports that summarize test results, including suggested follow-up actions, which can be shared with healthcare providers [17]. The company initially focused on the first 1000 days and has expanded to cover longevity, menopause markers, GLP-1 production, and other metrics to track gut health across all life stages, including pregnancy [18]. Testing is available through membership plans and baseline tests. In 2024, Fortune listed the Baby Gut Health Test among its “25 Top Recommended Products for Your Health and Wellness” [19].

Technology

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Tiny Health analyzes human stool and vaginal samples using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, which captures the genetic content of a microbial community [20]. This method allows for the identification of microbes at the strain level and the analysis of their functional pathways. The company’s bioinformatics pipeline has been validated against established performance benchmarks. It utilizes age-stratified reference cohorts, which include data from infants, children, adults, pregnant women, and those in later life [20]. Based on peer-reviewed research and company datasets, Tiny Health has reported quantitative markers, including the Gut Maturation Index, which models infant microbiome development, indicators of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) synthesis, urolithin A production capacity, microbiome summary score, and microbiome signatures associated with menopause and cardiovascular-related metabolic pathways [21]. The platform has been used in clinical trials and consumer testing programs, with findings reported in microbiome literature [20]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page)..

Health care practice (HCP)

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This division supports clinicians and practices by providing Tiny Health’s clinical-grade PRO Gut Health Test, Gut Health Test, and Vaginal Health Test [22]. It is used in areas including fertility, hormonal health, and longevity. Educational resources and continuing education (CE/CME) presentations are provided for practitioners.[23].

The company’s PRO Gut Health Test can only be ordered by licensed healthcare practitioners. The test includes microbial analysis and measures stool chemistry markers related to digestion, absorption, inflammation, and immune response in the gut [22]. Through distribution and diagnostic partners such as Rupa Health, Evexia Diagnostics, and Nordic Laboratories, Tiny Health tests are available to 28,000 healthcare practitioners internationally [22][24].

Clinical study collaborations

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The company collaborates with contract research organizations (CROs) to facilitate clinical research initiatives utilizing Tiny Health’s tests, including those that have been IRB-approved [25].

Research and clinical applications

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Tiny Health conducts research on the microbiome and its relationship to long-term health outcomes. The company has launched IRB-approved studies on topics such as food allergies and sensitivities, infant microbiome interventions, vaginal microbiome and fertility outcomes, HMO supplementation, and aging microbiome. In 2025, Tiny Health researchers published a peer-reviewed, randomized controlled trial in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology examining a six-month gut health support program for babies born by C-section. The intervention group showed lower eczema rates (6%) compared to the control group (29%). Additional findings included a higher abundance of *Bifidobacterium* in the intervention group (82% vs. 55%), increased presence of genes for digesting breast milk compounds, and lower "C-section index" values indicating gut microbiome patterns more similar to vaginally-born babies [20]. The same year, Tiny Health researchers and collaborators published a review article in Gut Microbes examining current evidence linking the infant gut microbiome to childhood health outcomes. The review highlights how early microbial colonization, shaped by birth mode, feeding practices, antibiotic exposure, and maternal factors, may influence the risk of chronic conditions, including asthma, eczema, diabetes, and obesity. The authors also call for improved research practices, such as standardized stool collection, updated sequencing technologies, and larger longitudinal cohorts, to advance the field[26]. In partnership with Chiyo, Tiny Health released a research paper demonstrating that Chiyo's Prenatal Nurture Program supports both maternal health and gut microbiome composition. The study observed decreases in bacterial species linked to pregnancy complications, and examined correlations between nutrition, maternal microbiome composition, and potential intergenerational effects [27]. Tiny Health has also collaborated on research led by Mira Care in a 2024 study examining the relationship between PCOS and gut health in 366 women [28]. The company benchmarks its taxonomic classification pipeline against industry standards, Kraken2 and MetaPhlAn4, reporting precision, recall, and F1 metrics. Age-stratified reference cohorts are used to develop proprietary condition-linked indices such as the C-section signature, resilience markers, and functional gene profiles [29].

Advisory board

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Tiny Health advisors provide expertise in clinical and research areas related to gastroenterology, pediatrics, microbial genomics, epidemiology, and women’s health.

Members of Tiny Health’s scientific and medical advisory board include:

  • Taylor Sittler, MD, a board-certified pathologist, angel investor, and co-founder of Color Health.[30] He also co-founded The Cusp,[31] and currently serves as a board director at Tiny Health.[32].
  • Emeran Mayer, MD, Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at UCLA and author of The Mind-Gut Connection;[33].
  • Qian Yuan, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Food Allergy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital;[34].
  • Meghan Azad, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba and Deputy Director of the CHILD Cohort Study;[35].
  • Ruben Mars, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, specializing in the gut microbiome.[36].

Awards

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  • Tiny Health named NutraIngredients-USA Start-up of the Year 2025 [37]
  • Mira’s Hormone Innovator Award for Integrative Impact 2025 [38]
  • Global Health & Pharma's Biotechnology & Lifesciences Awards 2025 [39]
  • Rising Star Quarterfinalist in the Kids Health category at the 2024 Digital Health Hub Foundation Awards[40]
  • 2023 Probiota Americas Pioneers [41]


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  1. ^ a b "Tiny Health Raises $4.5M to Launch Its Gut Health Test Tailored to Expecting Parents and Infants". Femtech Insider. November 2, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  2. ^ Staff (January 9, 2025). "Cheryl Sew Hoy, Tiny Health". Austin Woman. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Schonfeld, John (March 5, 2024). "Tiny Health raises $8.5M to expand its gut biome tests". VatorNews. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  4. ^ Harwell, Drew (June 9, 2024). "Doctors couldn't help. They turned to a shadow system of DIY medical tests". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  5. ^ Chiorando, Charlie (July 22, 2025). "Tiny Health named NutraIngredients-USA Start-up of the Year". NutraIngredients-USA. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  6. ^ "Tiny Health Raises $4.5M to Launch Its Gut Health Test Tailored to Expecting Parents and Infants". Femtech Insider. November 2, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  7. ^ Brodwin, Erin (March 5, 2024). "Tiny Health raises $9M in Series A for baby gut health microbiome tests". Axios. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  8. ^ Shunina, Daria (April 22, 2024). "Turning Customers Into Investors: Tiny Health's Experience". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  9. ^ Lao, Nadine (October 12, 2023). "WoW Woman in Health Tech – Cheryl Sew Hoy, CEO and Founder of Tiny Health". Women of Wearables. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  10. ^ "Cheryl Yeoh". American Immigration Council. 8 July 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  11. ^ "MaGIC hits year one, with CEO Yeoh hitting her stride". Malay Mail. May 15, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  12. ^ Goh, Chiew Tong (November 8, 2022). "'Create adversity': Startup CEO on raising kids with an entrepreneurial mind". CNBC. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Drummond, Jessica (October 8, 2024). "Supporting Teen Immune and Mental Health with Holistic Pediatrician Dr. Elisa Song". Integrative Women’s Health Institute. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  14. ^ "Elisa Song, MD". Cardiometabolic Health Congress. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  15. ^ "Holistic Pediatrician Discusses the Benefits of a Healthy Gut". KTVU FOX 2. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  16. ^ Song, Elisa (2024). Healthy Kids, Happy Kids: An Integrative Pediatrician's Guide to Whole Child Resilience. Harvest. ISBN 978-0-358-75117-5.
  17. ^ "Gut health's importance and what your pediatrician isn't telling you – Dr. Elisa Song shares why gut health is so important for DMV children". Fox 5 DC. August 26, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  18. ^ "Tiny Health increases funding, broadens clinical outreach". NutraIngredients-USA. October 8, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  19. ^ Contreras, Celia (December 26, 2024). "Top Recommended Wellness Products 2024". Fortune. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c d Nieto, Pamela A.; Nakama, Claudia; Trachsel, Julian; Goad, David; Soderborg, Taylor K.; Tan, Danielle Shea; Orlandi, Amy; Yuan, Qian; Song, Elisa; Mueller, Noel T.; Mars, Ruben A.; Sew Hoy, Cheryl; Sukhum, Kimberley V. (September 2025). "Improving immune-related health outcomes post-cesarean birth with a gut microbiome-based program: A randomized controlled trial". Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 36 (9): e70182. doi:10.1111/pai.70182. PMC 12405607. PMID 40898384.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  21. ^ "Tiny Health named NutraIngredients-USA Start-up of the Year". NutraIngredients-USA. July 22, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  22. ^ a b c "Tiny Health Adult Gut Test". Rupa Health. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  23. ^ "Master the Pediatric and Adult Microbiome with Tiny Health". Rupa University. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Vaginal Health Test (Tiny Health)". Nordic Laboratories. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Citrus Labs". Citrus Labs. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  26. ^ Nunez, Harold; Nieto, Pamela A.; Mars, Ruben A.; Ghavami, Maryam; Sew Hoy, Cheryl; Sukhuma, Kimberley (2025). "Early life gut microbiome and its impact on childhood health and chronic conditions". Gut Microbes. 17 (1): 2463567. doi:10.1080/19490976.2025.2463567. PMC 11810090. PMID 39916516.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  27. ^ "Chiyo Research". Chiyo. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  28. ^ Mosness, Carissa (September 2, 2024). "More Than Half of Women Report Feeling Gaslit by Their Doctor Regarding PCOS and IBS: New Study". First for Women. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  29. ^ Sherman, Asia (May 12, 2023). "Probiota Pioneers: Tiny Health on the birth of the baby gut microbiome test". NutraIngredients-USA. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  30. ^ "Startup Adds Color to Testing for Cancer Genes". Inside Precision Medicine. April 8, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  31. ^ "Menopause Startup The Cusp Abruptly Ends Operations". Femtech Insider. December 12, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  32. ^ "Tiny Health Appoints Dr. Elisa Song as Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Taylor Sittler as Board Director" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  33. ^ "The Brain-Gut Connection with Dr. Emeran Mayer". PBS. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  34. ^ "Qian Yuan, M.D., Ph.D." MGH Research Institute. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  35. ^ "Meghan Azad, PhD". University of Manitoba. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  36. ^ "Mayo researchers study stool to unlock microbiome's role in cancer treatment". Mayo Clinic News Network. April 14, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  37. ^ Chiorando, Charlie (July 22, 2025). "Tiny Health named NutraIngredients-USA Start-up of the Year". NutraIngredients-USA. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  38. ^ "Shaw Awards – Mira's Hormone Innovator Award for Integrative Impact". Mira. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  39. ^ "Tiny Health – Biotechnology & Lifesciences Awards 2025". Global Health & Pharma. AI Global Media. 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.[dead link]
  40. ^ "2024 Quarter-finalists". Digital Health Hub Foundation. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  41. ^ Daniells, Stephen (1 May 2023). "Meet the 2023 Probiota Americas Pioneers: Tiny Health, Purity IQ & Nimble Science". NutraIngredients-USA. William Reed. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
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