Cryptocurrency Figure Invests $20M in St. Louis Health Tech Startup

Canadian computer programmer Vitalik Buterin has invested the equivalent of $20 million in cryptocurrency in a St. Louis health tech startup.

The startup, Varro Holdings Inc., is developing open-source hardware to combat infectious disease. It's commercializing diagnostic devices like indoor air quality monitors and biosensors that can detect pathogens in clinical, professional, group residential and educational settings.

Varro is in the process of relocating operations, including manufacturing, to the Cortex Innovation District from New York and has eight employees.

“Our tech platform is unique for its ability to detect very low amounts of virus and other pathogens quickly, effectively, and at low cost,” chairman and CEO Tom Cirrito said in a statement. “Our open-sourcing of the technology has the potential to transform global public health by changing the face of infectious disease management and enabling innovation. We are proud to share Vitalik’s vision of decentralized health care and pandemic preparedness.”

Tom Cirrito is developing the technology with his brother, John Cirrito, a Washington University School of Medicine neurologist. Tom Cirrito said in an email that in making Varro's biosensing technology open source, he's hoping that it will encourage innovation.