World Diabetes Day 2025: Meet The Startups Making Life Easier For People With Diabetes

Today is world diabetes day. According to the World Health Organisation, around 830 million people around the world currently suffer from diabetes. In this UK, this number sits around 5.8 million, according to Diabetes UK.

But diabetes isn’t just any disease. For many, diabetes causes a complete lifestyle shift that affects what they can eat, when and how.

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition where blood glucose (sugar) levels can’t be regulated by the body because it doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t produce effective insulin.

When it comes to the types of diabetes, these are usually split into:

Type 1: When the body’s immune system affects the pancreas, which makes insulin, meaning it can’t produce any at all. In this case, people will need to inject their own insulin.

Type 2: When the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or cells don’t respond to the insulin it does make. For type 2 diabetes, people usually need to work through managing their disease through diet and lifestyle.

How Are Startups Helping People Living With Diabetes?

Startups are helping people living with diabetes in a few different ways.

Firstly, they help with easier blood-glucose monitoring, so people know when they might need to take insulin or eat more sugar.

Startups also help with getting more personalised insights, so people know how to better manage their diabetes. Other startups increase the availability of affordable or accessible care, to help both with the physical and mental aspects of living with the disease.

Startups Improving Diabetic Care

Want to know some of the startups pioneering diabetic care? Look no further.

Gluroo

Gluroo is designed to help people manage their diabetes by allowing them to include all data, reminders and communications in one place.

With blood glucose reminders, blood sugar numbers readily available, meal logging and exercise and health data included, Gluroo is an all in one app for those looking to manage their diabetes.

Virta Health

Virta is a weight loss and diabetes reversal platform, that uses personalised plans to empower people to improve their lifestyle.

As Type 2 diabetes in particular can be managed with lifestyle, Virta helps people reduce the need for medication, better manage their blood sugar and improve their metabolic health.

Dia Beta Labs

Dia Beta Labs is a UK-based biotech company that is setting out to treat metabolic disease progression, rather than just helping people manage symptoms.

The company is researching new ways to reduce the decline of pancreatic health by helping the body naturally produce more insulin, as well as giving people the tools to live healthier lifestyles.

Podimetrics

Diabetes, if out of control, can cause inflammation in the body, especially the feet. Podimetrics have created a smart mat that helps people identify any inflammation before symptoms arrive.

By asking people to step on the mat for 20 seconds per day and  monitoring symptoms regularly, the company is finding new ways to help those with complex diabetes prevent high-risk complications.

MONA

The number 1 cause of blindness for working-age adults is diabetic retinopathy, which affects the eyes. And when it comes to diabetes, 80% of people with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy at some point in their lives.

To manage this, early detection is important. Mona helps with this using their AI software, that allows people to easily monitor their eyes and see any changes. This reduces the need for specialist equipment, helping more people have access to easy monitoring.

Glooko

Glooko helps healthcare professionals focus more on delivering care and less on managing data. By syncing data from a variety of places, including BGMs, CGMs, insulin pumps and pens, and health and fitness trackers all in one place, health teams can spend less time collecting information and more time planning care.