PNOĒ Unveils Self-Administered Metabolic Testing Mask to Bring Longevity Data to the Masses

At first glance, the newest device from PNOĒ looks like something straight out of a comic book, designed for a cinematic villain rather than a routine trip to the gym. The mask, which fits snugly over the nose and mouth and secures tightly around the back of the head, bears more than a passing resemblance to the iconic facial gear worn by Bane, Batman’s hulking nemesis. Yet its purpose is far more benign and health-focused: it measures how much oxygen a person consumes and how much carbon dioxide they exhale, subsequently translating that physiological data into actionable advice about how to eat, train, and, the company hopes, live a longer and healthier life.

PNOĒ, a health-tech company rooted in Malden, Massachusetts, with significant operations in Athens, Greece, is preparing to officially launch its next-generation device, the PNOĒ 2.0, on October 1. The most significant and transformative change from its current generation of hardware is that users can now administer the test entirely by themselves. According to co-founder and CEO Apostolos Atsalakis, a user can walk into a fitness center, put on the mask, push a button, sit down comfortably, and breathe normally for just eight minutes. That is the entire process, Atsalakis explained during a recent video call from the company’s Athens office, emphasizing just how frictionless the user experience has become.

That operational shift matters profoundly because PNOĒ’s current device requires a specially trained operator to oversee the process, a factor that inherently limits where and how it can be deployed. By introducing a self-serve version, the company can suddenly open the door to modern fitness centers that operate without dedicated wellness staff, and potentially even expand into retail pharmacies and corporate wellness spaces, Atsalakis noted.

The underlying science that powers PNOĒ’s technology is far from new. Metabolic testing, which analyzes the precise gases present in a person’s exhaled breath to gauge how efficiently their body produces energy, has been utilized by exercise physiologists for more than a century. For decades, it has served as the undisputed gold standard for measuring VO₂ max, which represents the maximum volume of oxygen the human body can utilize during intense exercise. Widely recognized as one of the most reliable indicators of overall cardiorespiratory fitness, VO₂ max has traditionally required bulky, expensive laboratory equipment found almost exclusively in specialized sports science labs and elite medical hospitals. Consequently, metabolic testing has historically remained the exclusive province of elite endurance athletes and high-end executive wellness programs.

What the ten-year-old startup promises is to deliver that exact clinical-grade accuracy inside a sleek, portable package, paired with sophisticated proprietary software that translates raw laboratory-style results into practical, personalized lifestyle recommendations. Atsalakis emphasized that the primary mission has always been to democratize advanced physiology, noting that the company has successfully made professional-grade metabolic insights accessible to everyday people.

According to the company, its testing apparatus captures an impressive 23 distinct biomarkers during a single session. Beyond measuring VO₂ max, these metrics include resting metabolic rate—which calculates precisely how many calories the body burns while at complete rest—and metabolic flexibility, a crucial measure of how efficiently the body switches between burning fat and carbohydrates for fuel. Atsalakis argues that these advanced physiological metrics can answer critical questions about human health and fitness that traditional blood tests simply cannot address, such as determining an individual’s exact caloric needs or prescribing the optimal training intensity to achieve specific health goals.

The timing of this product evolution appears exceptionally favorable for PNOĒ. Over recent years, VO₂ max has transformed into a major buzzword among the rapidly growing longevity community, thanks in large part to an accumulating body of scientific research linking higher cardiorespiratory fitness directly to lower all-cause mortality. Atsalakis frequently refers to VO₂ max as the single strongest predictor of human longevity, and he envisions his company’s comprehensive data platform serving as a vital scorecard for the booming global wellness industry.

The newly designed device is notably smaller and more compact than its predecessor, featuring significantly fewer moving parts, a design choice that Atsalakis says inherently enhances its mechanical reliability. The hardware was meticulously crafted in collaboration with Milan-based Design Group Italia. Atsalakis described the development process as involving an extraordinary number of iterations, largely because a completely self-administered metabolic testing device of this caliber had never been successfully engineered before.

The redesign also directly addresses a practical question that post-pandemic consumers are almost certain to ask: who wore this equipment last? The answer is built into the modular architecture of the device; the sensitive electronics easily detach from the silicone mask and head straps, ensuring that multiple people can safely share the costly underlying hardware while every individual user retains their own personal, hygienic mask.

Despite its clear clinical ambitions and deep health metrics, PNOĒ maintains a cautious approach regarding its regulatory claims. The device is not currently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Atsalakis explicitly stated that the company does not provide medical diagnoses or medical recommendations. Instead, PNOĒ firmly positions itself within the wellness category. He compared it to standard body composition scales found in fitness centers, noting that a physician cannot prescribe medication based directly on the results generated by their hardware.

That regulatory boundary could potentially evolve over the horizon. Medical researchers have spent years exploring whether specific volatile organic compounds and chemical signatures in human breath might serve as early warning signals for diseases such as cancer. Atsalakis believes that the company’s rapidly expanding repository of biometric data could eventually assist researchers in flagging underlying health issues earlier. However, he readily acknowledged that full clinical diagnoses are definitely a few years away, with complex regulatory hurdles likely stretching that timeline even further into the future. The company recognizes that it is not there yet, he added.

PNOĒ traces its corporate origins back to Atsalakis’s rigorous doctoral research in advanced sensing technologies at the University of Cambridge. During his time at Cambridge, wearable technology was experiencing a massive surge in popularity, and he became deeply fascinated by the hidden wealth of health information that human breath could reveal about internal metabolic processes. He ultimately co-founded the startup alongside Panos Papadiamantis, a childhood friend who currently serves as the company’s chief product officer.

The young company participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2019 batch, entering the accelerator during a period when the modern "longevity" sector was barely a fraction of the commercial industry it represents today. Since those early days, PNOĒ has successfully raised approximately $22 million in total funding. This includes a recently finalized $11 million financing round backed by prominent institutional investors such as 50 Years, alongside notable angel investors like Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen, who is himself currently based in Athens.

Operating under a business-to-business model, PNOĒ sells its hardware and software platform exclusively to commercial enterprises, which in turn offer the metabolic test to their respective members and clients. Its impressive roster of clients includes fitness giant Equinox, where the technology is available at nearly all club locations, according to Atsalakis. Other notable partners include Four Seasons hotels, Red Bull, the National Basketball Association, the Mount Sinai Health System, and the prominent med-spa chain Restore Hyper Wellness.

Roughly 85 percent of the company’s total commercial business originates in the United States, a market Atsalakis described as by far the most advanced and receptive global environment for longevity-focused services. Building on this domestic momentum, the company is actively expanding its footprint across Europe and, through established regional partners, into Latin America and Asia.

Commercial clients pay a recurring monthly subscription fee ranging from $400 to upwards of $1,000. This comprehensive package covers the specialized hardware, analytical software, staff training protocols, and marketing collateral—an all-inclusive framework that Atsalakis refers to as a complete "business in a box." Furthermore, PNOĒ intelligently links its test results directly to the specific services offered by the business. This allows a gym, hotel, or wellness spa to automatically recommend targeted training programs, dietary adjustments, or spa treatments based entirely on an individual customer’s unique metabolic profile. Many clients incorporate the assessment directly into their customer onboarding process, positioning the test somewhere between a comprehensive clinical medical workup and the generalized fitness estimates provided by consumer smartwatches.

That specific market middle ground is becoming increasingly crowded. Major consumer technology brands like Apple, Garmin, and Whoop routinely estimate VO₂ max metrics using continuous heart-rate data, while dedicated consumer gadgets like Lumen analyze breath samples to help users gauge their daily fat and carbohydrate burning states. At the upper tier of the market, traditional hospital-grade metabolic carts remain the entrenched standard inside specialized research laboratories and elite medical institutions.

PNOĒ, which currently employs a team of 110 people, reports that it recently achieved profitability while experiencing annual revenue growth exceeding 100 percent. Looking ahead, Atsalakis revealed that the company intends to raise a formal Series B funding round within the next six to twelve months, continuing its aggressive push to place its distinctive metabolic mask—Bane comparisons and all—in front of increasingly more faces around the world.