Trusting your gut on at-home microbiome tests | Investors Lab

May 20, 2026 at 5:27 pm

For millions of people, chronic digestive distress is a daily reality, yet the path to a diagnosis often involves inconvenient and uncomfortable procedures. A solution may be emerging from an unlikely place: the lungs. By capturing and analyzing the gases we exhale, clinicians might one day map our microbiome and detect gut denizens linked to disease without ever needing a stool sample or a biopsy needle. SN’s Meghan Rosen breathes life into the topic.

🧠 Gastrointestinal intelligence

When we exhale, we’re churning out a cornucopia of gases. Recent research suggests that these gases are not just byproducts, but specific chemical fingerprints that have the potential to reveal what is happening in the dark corners of the gut. It’s the first step in a transition from guesswork based on symptoms to molecular data collection, which would be a major advance in our collective gastrointestinal intelligence.

💊 Probiotics on the rise

Although experts advise caution on using breath testing to make decisions about what foods to eat or avoid, the shift toward breath-based testing taps a current public obsession with metabolic health, a favorite buzzword of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. The global digestive health market is projected to reach $124 billion in the next decade, with the rise of probiotics in the form of foods, drinks and supplements. As healthcare startups pivot toward decentralized, home-based monitoring, portable hardware is popping up to fill the niche. Related devices and apps are emerging to capture some of the value currently locked behind hospital-based breath-testing machines.

😮‍💨 Who is capturing the breath-print?

Here are some companies currently scaling the technology required to turn metabolic gas into profit. It’s worth noting that at-home gut microbiome tests produce inconsistent results, and that both of the below companies include disclaimers that users should consult with medical professionals for safest results.

Viome: A heavyweight in the personalized nutrition space, Viome has raised over $300 million to date. Viome’s tests examine RNA in blood, saliva and stool samples, and the firm provides dietary advice based on results. Notably, the company was founded by Naveen Jain, the serial entrepreneur behind InfoSpace, a major 1990s internet company that crashed amid legal scandals involving investors and employees.
FoodMarble makes personal digestive breath test kits, including a pocket-sized bluetooth-connected device with a detachable mouthpiece, along with an app. Users can track their response to specific foods in real time. The firm has raised $8.7 million to date.

We’re trusting our gut on this marketable opportunity.

Disclaimer: The Science News Investors Lab newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Society for Science and Science News Media Group assumes no liability for any financial decisions or losses resulting from the use of the content in this newsletter. Society for Science and Science News Media Group do not receive payments from, and do not have any ownership or investment interest in, the companies mentioned in this newsletter. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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