(Reuters) — A group of former Google (NSDQ:GOOG) employees are betting they can boost the world’s medical knowledge with a mobile IQ test.
Hi.Q, a free app for the Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPad launching today, includes 10,000 questions across 300 topics, such as food allergies, childhood health, and portion control. After taking the test, users are given a breakdown of their expertise across certain health areas.
Founder &CEO Munjal Shah, who sold his prior company Like.com to Google in 2010, said early data show a strong correlation between health literacy and obesity. Shah’s team is also tracking whether a person’s health knowledge correlates with the rate of hospitalizations.
The Hi.Q team believes that Silicon Valley jumped too quickly into developing wearable devices to track fitness and wellbeing. A recent study from research firm Endeavour Partners found that ⅓ of people who owned a wearable stopped using it after 6 months.
Shah believes the 1st step to get more people engaged in their health on a daily basis should be "quantified knowledge."
"Wearables are ending up in a drawer. I believe that’s because most people fundamentally lack the practical knowledge to stay healthy in the modern world," he said.
The company said 250,000 people have already used the app in its trial phase. According to Shah, 84% of those who opted to take the test were female. The most engaged users are mothers between the ages of 30 and 60.
Shah told Reuters he started kicking around ideas for a health startup after some 1st-hand experience with the current U.S. health system. After settling on health literacy, he recruited some fellow Google employees to join the team.
The app’s founders are primarily drawn from the tech sector, rather than the medical field. To ensure accuracy, Shah said the questions have been carefully vetted by subject matter experts, such as a former orthopedic surgeon for the U.S. Olympic team.
The Hi.Q group is more focused on building the product than on making money in the coming months, said Shah. He stressed that the company would not sell data on people’s health knowledge to medical insurance providers.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company raised a small and undisclosed seed round of funding from Silicon Valley venture firms, including Greylock Partners, Menlo Ventures and Rock Health.
