We believe that profit fueled global expansion of sickness has surpassed unacceptable levels
Poor habits from childhood significantly damage lifelong health
Foods are chemically processed and infused with sugar, salts, fats, artificial sweeteners, synthetic colours, flavour enhancers, and preservatives
Significant ad-spend is targeted at children and teens, mostly via stealth marketing
Multi-fold increase in disease burden
DIABETES, HEART DISEASE, CANCER, COVID-19 AND OTHER NUTRITION / LIFESTYLE ILLNESSES
50%
6s
$910bn
1 in 5
of all child deaths under age 5 are due to poor nutrition (1)
every 6 seconds, a person dies from diabetes (2)
actual costs of Diabetes-related complications (3)
urban children in India are pre-diabetic(4)
Sources: (1) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; (2) World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database, 2014; (3) IDF Diabetes Atlas, 6th ed. Brussels, International Diabetes Federation, 2013; (4) WEF and Harvard School of Public Health “Global Economic Burden of Non-communicable diseases”;
We aim to eradicate the preventable global burden of disease
We are inspired by Vaccines: The greatest success of modern medicine because of the focus on Prevention
We pioneer Digital Vaccines to shape diet-lifestyle-hygiene habits during childhood.
We empower future generations, as well as their families.
Our Clinical Research Partners and Scientific Collaborators
FriendsLearn has achieved pioneering milestones in collaboration with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Stanford School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital UPMC, Kansas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the National University of Singapore.
Preclinical Studies published in Pediatrics and Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience by our research collaborators at Hoglund Biomedical Imaging Center at KU Medical Center at the University of Kansas
Fooya is a non-invasive, low-risk and clinically-proven digital vaccine technology delivered through a commercially available, subscription driven, game-like, mobile App, for children to download on iOS / Android / PCs. Based on published results from 4 pilot, cross-sectional clinical trials conducted with over 1000 children, researchers found that children who use FOOYA! make healthier food choices in the real world.
The peace of planet Nutrino is at stake! The evil scientist Dr. Shtoo invaded Nutrino with the fatty, salty, and sugary processed foods to destroy the peace and health of the Nutreans. You MUST fight for the Nutreans!
APPLY NOW to be a Distinguished School Health Partner
100s of schools have applied to gain access to our School Health program and to partner with the Digital Vaccine Project at Carnegie Mellon University. Select schools that have demonstrated track record of Health Programming will be considered after a rigrious evaluation and eligibility matching process. Click here to Apply
About FriendsLearn
FriendsLearn is a Bio and Health Tech company that has defined a new class of disease prevention through technology, known as Digital Vaccines, in partnership with world-renowned academic scientists and researchers. FriendsLearn is a founding research translation and technology commercialization partner of the Digital Vaccine Project at Carnegie Mellon University.
With offices in San Francisco, California and Chennai, India, FriendsLearn has achieved pioneering milestones in collaboration with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Stanford School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital UPMC, Kansas Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the National University of Singapore.
Digital Vaccines are a subcategory of the field of Digital Therapeutics. The company's Digital Vaccine pipeline of candidates are derivatives of a proprietary Machine Learning and Deep Learning enabled Neuromodulation and Neurocognitive Training platform. These technologies are clinically validated non-invasive game-like mobile Virtual Reality Apps. FriendsLearn has a commercially deployed candidate, delivered as the mobile App for children on iOS and Android devices - FOOYA! - based on 10 years of published R&D in the prevention of lifestyle diseases. The company has expanded the platform to disease management, as well as towards prevention of infectious diseases.
NASSCOM featured FriendsLearn’s Digital Vaccines as a "2020 Digital Disruptor" and as an example of Deep Tech innovation during the 2020 NASSCOM Technology Leadership Forum in Mumbai. Carnegie Mellon University featured Digital Vaccines as one of the top breakthrough in technology in their "Year in review" as well as described the underlying scientific advances as a "new frontier in disease prevention technology".
Bhargav Sri Prakash, is the CEO of FriendsLearn which he founded when he was a Kauffman Fellow in 2011. As the founder-investor, he leads the team’s pioneering work based on a philosophy that unprecedented financial return can be unlocked by tackling our world’s biggest and most intractable problems. His journey as an immigrant entrepreneur began when he was enrolled as an international graduate student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He started CADcorporation to commercialize his research in Automotive Powertrain Simulations and sold the company in 2005 to General Motors Corporation (GM:NYSE). He then founded Vmerse – edugaming – catering to Universities, in their efforts to recruit applicants and alumni/donor relations. Vmerse delivered X-Box style multiplayer 3D games and services to digitize campuses and maintain the software framework. He sold Vmerse in 2009. Between 2008 and 2011 he was a co-founder & Managing Director of a global macro long-short hedge fund – Nirmana LP. He spends time between Palo Alto and Chennai, with his wife and 3 young daughters.
Lenny Mendonca is a director emeritus (retired senior partner) of McKinsey & Company, Inc., a global management consulting firm, where he cofounded the public sector practice and worked in the Washington DC and San Francisco offices. He has helped dozens of corporate, government, and nonprofit clients with their most difficult management challenges. He is founder and chair of Fusecorps, co-chair of California Forward, and chair of Children Now. He serves on the boards of the New America Foundation, the Committee for Economic Development, Common Cause, the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium, and the California Business for Educational Excellence Foundation.
Sheila Sri Prakash is an award winning Designer, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, who founded the international design firm, Shilpa Architects, in 1979. She is an acclaimed thought-leader and advises Heads of State on Holistic Sustainability, including the promotion of Societal health through design of the built environment. She served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation and the Role of Arts in Society. She is an Advisor to the United Nations and the Government of India and the UK. She is on the board of Nirmana, LP
