*By Bridgette Webb*
Fitness start-up Naked Labs has raised $14 million in Series A funding to produce the market's first at-home body scanner.
The device includes a scale with sensors, a computer, and a stationary mirror to collect data on body fat, lean muscle mass, and circumferences. It can complete a body scan in 15 seconds and also tracks progress over time by offering side-by-side body comparisons.
The machine costs $1,395, a lofty sum for a fitness tracker. Though Naked Labs co-founders Ed Sclater and Farhad Farahbakhshian are betting that the high quality of the device will be worth it.
"It's a premium product with premium materials, and a lot of tech packed in," said Sclater in an interview Wednesday with Cheddar.
"This is a first-to-world product, we are creating a new category," added Farahbakhshian. "When LCD TV's first came out, they were $2,300."
Farahbakhshian said Naked Labs is very mindful of how much personal data users would be sharing.
"We made a deliberate decision early on that we are not going to own the data of the user, the data belongs to them," he said. "At any time they can delete their account and information and it's gone from our cloud servers."
Naked Labs' founders said the product will enable users to see the impact that diet, exercise, and other daily decisions have on their bodies.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/naked-labs-raises-14m-for-home-3d-body-scanners).
Google has agreed to pay $700 million to settle an anti-trust settlement.
Stocks were up after the closing bell as Wall Street continued to pin their hopes on rate cuts after last week's comments from the Fed.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even bigger changes.
Nicki Minaj just reached a milestone that no other woman in rap has reached.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at increasing transparency in healthcare.
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
