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Easy car access for gig workers struggling to keep up with demand

Can AI Skin Cancer Detection Be the Next $1B+ Unicorn?

When my grandfather was a kid, he spent his summers picking apples to make some money. No 401(k), no dental. Just long days in the orchard and all the free sunshine he could soak up.

That sunshine came at a price: today, he undergoes routine treatments for skin cancer.

Through his experience, I’ve learned a simple but brutal truth: when it comes to skin cancer, detection is everything. Catch it early, and you’re removing a small area with a precise scalpel. Catch it late, and you’re taking a golf-ball sized hole out of your back.

That’s why I’m so interested in a startup called SkinBit, which uses AI-powered skin cancer detection to catch problems early — and make the process faster, cheaper, and more accessible than ever.

What Is SkinBit?

SkinBit is a full-body skin scanner that uses high-resolution cameras and AI trained on 50,000+ clinical data points to detect skin cancer with over 90% accuracy.

The name comes from ‘skin’ (pretty straightforward) + ‘bit’ (referring to digital code). The premise behind SkinBit is to turn your skin into digital code that can be read by an AI.

It’s fast — a full scan takes just 60 seconds.

It’s safe — the technology doesn’t use ionizing radiation, so it won’t mess with your cells or DNA like frequent X-Rays or CT scans would.

And it’s smart — the AI analyzes your skin for abnormalities and establishes a personalized baseline. This way, any changes to your skin (enlarging moles, new growths) can be immediately flagged on your next visit.

The Role of Biopsies in Skin Cancer Detection

To be clear: SkinBit doesn’t replace a dermatologist (yet). But it significantly enhances the front end of the diagnostic pipeline.

If SkinBit flags a lesion as suspicious, the next step is a biopsy — a small sample of skin taken and analyzed under a microscope. This is the gold standard in confirming whether or not something is cancerous.

Today, this step often happens too late. Many people don’t notice or act on skin abnormalities until they’ve progressed. SkinBit flips the script: it can find issues before they’re easily visible to the naked eye or human doctor, then hands the baton to a clinician for confirmation and treatment.

SkinBit’s Hub-and-Spoke Model Explained

SkinBit’s go-to-market strategy relies on a hub-and-spoke model — a tried-and-true method for scaling physical infrastructure.

• SkinBit Hubs: These are flagship SkinBit-owned centers in major cities. They’ll offer full-body scans, follow-up biopsies, and possibly skin care products and services.

• SkinBit Spokes: These are satellite scan locations embedded in existing businesses like MedSpas, gyms, and wellness clinics. Customers can walk in, scan themselves, and get results via the app — often with no staff required.

The benefits:

• Convenience: No need to trek across town. A SkinBit scan could be right next to your yoga class.

• Speed: If a concern is flagged, you’re directed to the hub for a biopsy — possibly in the same-day so that the anxiety doesn’t build.

• Scalability: These outposts will be offered to businesses with no upfront cost, making it frictionless for SkinBit to rapidly expand its footprint.

This distribution strategy is similar to our current healthcare infrastructure; hospitals (hubs) are the full-service HQ while minute clinics (spokes) serve as outposts to offer convenient & fast checkups.

SkinBit’s network is more than just convenience - it’s about access.

Waiting times for dermatologist appointments can span weeks or even months. 

Cancer doesn’t hit the pause button until you reach your appointment date, so the current system amplifies the danger for at-risk consumers.

SkinBit would allow you to easily get scanned day of - no wait time needed. 

The pitfalls of the current system should naturally drive customers to SkinBit and improve the speed of care; a win-win for the business & patients.

Why Now is the Time for AI Skin Cancer Detection

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., with over 5.4 million cases diagnosed annually. It’s fueled by:

• Decades of sun exposure to an aging population

• Growing public interest in preventative care

• A consumer shift toward optimization health (see: Bryan Johnson, NAD drips, longevity clinics)

And yet — 3 in 10 skin cancers are still missed by doctors. That’s shockingly high.

With an aging population and booming consumer interest in preventative care, the timing for AI skin cancer detection to break through feels right for today’s world.

Who is SkinBit’s Customer?

Let’s talk TAM (Total Addressable Market). There are over 330 million people in the U.S.

• 1 in 5 Americans is considered high-risk for skin cancer = ~66 million people

• But not everyone can afford a $199 scan

• So we filter for income: There are ~20 million Americans who earn $150K+ per year

Assuming income-qualified and high-risk overlap at 1 in 5 = roughly 4 million ideal customers

These are the people most likely to:

• Care about their health

• Spend money on wellness/preventative care

• Get value from a recurring scan service

I see it reasonable for 5% of this qualified audience to adopt SkinBit and get four scans per year:

4M people × 5% adoption × 4 scans × $199 = $160 million in annual revenue

Even if just 1% of this audience converts, you're still looking at $32 million per year — more than enough to justify their current valuation.

I really think this is a conservative estimate - I applied an income-qualifier that removed ~90% of the population from my estimates, but the reality is insurance should be able to cover some patients’ visits - especially if they have a history of skin cancer.

Removing the income-qualifier from my estimates would rocket their TAM upwards, making the risk-reward for this investment really impressive.

All that is just on the revenue side, but their business model also projects strong profitability…

Unit Economics Spell a Sunny Forecast

• Each scanner costs: $20,000

• Each scanner can expect ~20 scans per day

• At $199 per scan, that's: $1M+ in annual revenue per scanner

• Operating costs per scanner: $378K per year

• Gross profit per unit: $600K+

The payback period for each scanner is remarkably fast - we’re talking like 11 days of operation to profitably pay off a machine. For context, many business measure payback periods in months/years, not days.

And thanks to remote dermatologist oversight (similar to radiologists reviewing x-rays), one doctor can manage 20–30 machines at once, massively reducing staffing costs.

In the future, SkinBit plans to use its clinical data to pursue FDA clearance to go fully autonomous with its AI model — removing the need for dermatologist involvement altogether.

Fully autonomous = more speed + greater profitability.

SkinBit’s Veteran Founder: Jonathan Benassaya

Founder Jonathan Benassaya is no rookie. He founded Deezer, a music streaming platform that IPO’d at a $1B+ valuation. SkinBit is personal for him — a few years ago, a dermatologist missed his melanoma diagnosis.

I got the opportunity to chat with Jonathan last week, and momentum behind the company is growing. There was even a big update on the distribution side he privately shared that I can’t write about yet!

Jonathan is joined by a high-powered team, including the Chief of Medical Dermatology at Stanford. This is deep technical and clinical expertise paired with a proven founder - the type of team I like to back with my dollars.

What About Competition?

There are two names worth watching:

🧠 Prenuvo

The elephant in the full-body scan room. They offer whole-body MRI scans for ~$2,500. Last year, they pulled in $100M+ in revenue and are reportedly profitable.

But their focus is broad — cancer, organ health, musculoskeletal scans — and their tech is MRI, not high-res photography. They could enter the skin cancer detection market, but that would be a pivot from their core product. There’s a risk that Prenuvo goes from complementary → competitive.

🧬 Neko Health

A European player founded by Daniel Ek (Spotify founder). Their product is similar in theory — AI health scans — but lacks the imaging resolution and specificity of SkinBit. They’ve launched three locations, all in Europe, with no hiring plans in the U.S. - which signals their expansion to America is not imminent.

These are legit companies. But for now, they’re focused elsewhere.

So... Should You Invest in SkinBit?

SkinBit is raising on Wefunder at a $20M valuation (or $15M early bird). I think that’s an absolulte steal for a startup that:

• Has 3,000 people on its waitlist without spending a dime on marketing

• Operates in a massive, growing category

• Has strong IP and a patent-backed tech moat

• Is led by a founder with a $1B exit under his belt

• Has Stanford-level clinical leadership

• Could scale quickly with a hub-and-spoke model

• Has unit economics that make sense from Day 1

If SkinBit becomes even a fraction of what Prenuvo is — and it has all the markers to get there — you’re looking at $100-$500M valuation with upside to much more. 

Final Thoughts

We’re living in the golden age of proactive health — and AI is making it more accessible than ever. SkinBit is one of the rare startups that combines clinical impact, strong business fundamentals, and massive upside potential.

This isn’t a gadget. It’s a shift in how we think about skin health.

I’ll be investing in this round.

This post is NOT sponsored by SkinBit, but if you want to learn more and potentially join me as an investor, SkinBit has a webinar today, details can be found below (fingers crossed that Jonathan reveals the positive distribution update!)

• Reserve your spot for SkinBit’s debut webinar → LINK

• Check out early bird terms for SkinBit → LINK

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