At-home microbiome testing company Ombre, formerly Thryve, has raised $3 million in seed funding, bringing its total raise to $9.5 million.

The round was led by PivotNorth Capital with participation from Trail Mix Ventures, Shanda Group, Unilever Ventures, Social Starts' fund Joyance Partners and Unpopular Ventures.

In addition to the name change, the company also hired new CEO Elise Contarsy, formerly of Bonnier Consumer Products, Meredith Corporation, Bed Bath & Beyond, Martha Stewart Living and Calvin Klein Home.

They also brought on a new chief product officer, a vice president of B2B business development and a merchandise operations manager.

WHAT IT DOES

Ombre offers at-home gut microbiome tests, as well as probiotic and diet recommendations based on the results. 

"We believe the future of self-care is built around the concept of the quantified self. Every individual's microbiome is unique, and we see ongoing consumer interest in knowing how to use their individual bioinformatics to take actions that improve their well-being," CEO Elise Contarsy said in a statement.

WHAT IT’S FOR

Ombre said it will use the investment to improve their offerings, including their gut health reports, probiotic recommendations and the consumer’s experience in their app.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Viome Life Sciences, another company that makes at-home tests for gut and immune system health, recently partnered with global pharma company GlaxoSmithKline to research and possibly develop interventions for some cancers and autoimmune diseases. 

In May, the company received breakthrough device designation from the Food and Drug Administration for its mRNA analysis technology and artificial intelligence platform that can detect early signs of oral and throat cancers.

Digital gastrointestinal health company Vivante Health also offers microbiome analysis, and in January 2020 raised another $5.8 million in funding. 

DayTwo, an Israeli company that analyzes the gut microbiome for nutrition and glycemic control, raised $31 million in Series B financing in 2019.