An Ohio-based startup that aims to make fitness more accessible is headed to the University of Cincinnati's 1819 Innovation Hub.
IncludeHealth, a digital health and performance company founded by UC graduate Ryan Eder, will open an innovation lab at the hub later this year. The lab will take up a 1,600-square-foot, second-floor space neighboring Fifth Third Bank.
IncludeHealth, which has employees in both Cincinnati and Columbus, will dedicate more than half the lab to a “connected clinic” showcasing its technology. That involves IncludeStrength, an all-inclusive exercise machine; IncludeCloud, a medical-grade, HIPAA-compliant cloud infrastructure that allows users to develop online protocols during a workout; and IncludeConnect, a palm-sized sensor that attaches to equipment to collect data. Eder also envisions hosting events with strategic partners and investors.
“My North Star through the IncludeHealth journey has always been to make a positive impact in my community, and we feel being a part of the 1819 family accelerates that mission,” Eder said.
The partnership with 1819 Innovation Hub is a homecoming of sorts for Eder. He came up with the idea for IncludeHealth during his senior year at UC in 2006. The move puts the company in the same building as Eder’s earliest mentors and supporters: the Live Well Collaborative and the UC Simulation Center – both of which are backed by Procter & Gamble – as well as CincyTech, the region’s largest seed fund and IncludeHealth’s biggest investor.
And it puts IncludeHealth close to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, which it partnered with in December to commercialize the movement correction technology known as aNMT (pronounced animate, short for Augmented Neuromuscular Training).
“An impressive number of our instrumental partners, the ones that supported the company and vision early on, were under one roof,” Eder said. “There was an instant feeling of being home.”
IncludeHealth joins a growing list of companies at 1819 Innovation Hub, including Procter & Gamble, Kroger and Cincinnati Bell. UC calls 1819 the "nerve center" of the Cincinnati Innovation District, which JobsOhio pledged $100 million to develop in March. The idea is to expand the number of degrees awarded by UC over the next decade in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math and medicine. The goal is to eventually create 15,000 STEM graduates, boosting the state’s economy by an estimated $3 billion per year.
IncludeHealth "exemplifies everything that is driving the growth of the Cincinnati Innovation District,” said CincyTech CEO Mike Venerable. David Adams, UC’s chief innovation officer, said partnerships, like the one with IncludeHealth, will accelerate the overall effort.
"IncludeHealth is emblematic of the power of the innovation ecosystem that is developing here in the Cincinnati Innovation District,” Adams said. “As we continue to attract more companies, we are confident that our model…is the blueprint for other cities."
IncludeHealth plans to move in to 1819 Innovation Hub before Thanksgiving.
