# Neru Health – From Sleep Challenges to Scaling Chronic Care with AI October 24, 2025 - [ Features ](/news-categories/features) ![Neru Health logo](/sites/g/files/omnuum8171/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-10/neru-logo.png?itok=4JzXNGII) When Neru Health first came to the [IQSS Startup Foundry](/startup-foundry "The IQSS Startup Foundry"), they had a big idea: transform the way people solve sleep problems. Millions struggle with conditions like sleep apnea, and while treatments exist, staying consistent with therapy is notoriously difficult. Neru’s early vision centered on improving patient engagement and adherence to sleep therapy. But as the team dug deeper during their time in the Foundry, they uncovered a bigger and more urgent opportunity. Durable Medical Equipment (DME) providers, responsible for supplying and supporting patients with CPAP machines and other critical devices, were stuck between trying to grow while maintaining excellent patient care and adherence to treatment. Staffing shortages, rising costs, and manual support processes left DMEs unable to keep up with patient needs. If patients didn’t use their equipment properly, everyone lost: the patient suffered, the provider lost reimbursements, and insurers faced higher long-term costs. With the Foundry’s mentorship and programming, Neru began reshaping its model. With hands-on product guidance, intensive mentoring from tech and go-to-market experts, strategic connections with DME executives, and an MBA intern funded by the Foundry rounding out the early team, Neru had the support to move fast. By testing their assumptions, validating market demand, and ultimately shifting their focus from a consumer sleep app to a B2B platform, Neru was poised to transform how DMEs operate. That pivot became the foundation for Neru’s current business. Today, Neru Health is a vertical AI company transforming chronic care by automating patient support and resupply for DME providers and specialty clinics. Their platform uses clinician-trained voice and text AI to deliver 24/7 patient troubleshooting, adherence coaching, and supply management. At the core is Chronos AI, a proprietary digital phenotyping engine that personalizes patient engagement across behavioral and clinical archetypes, driving higher adherence, lower costs, and better outcomes. The results have been striking. In less than a year, Neru has partnered with national and regional DMEs managing tens of thousands of patients, helping them recapture millions in reimbursements and cut labor costs by up to 60%. Early outcomes show 10–20% improvements in medical device adherence, 30%+ fewer human calls, and a 20% lift in patient satisfaction. These metrics validated that Neru wasn’t just solving a sleep problem—it was unlocking profitability and scalability for providers while improving care for patients. For founder and CEO Morgan Moncada, the Foundry was a critical launchpad. A Harvard MBA and Blavatnik Healthcare Fellow, Moncada entered the program with both entrepreneurial ambition and a research-driven mindset. The prestigious Blavatnik Fellowship provides Harvard graduates with a year of funding to explore ideas at the intersection of science and business, with the potential to turn into impactful ventures. While Moncada was not a traditional academic researcher, his fellowship created a natural bridge into the Foundry’s mission of commercializing research and building ventures that address pressing societal challenges. The team included co-founders Catherine Tadina, an experienced product expert from Stanford, Amazon, and Boeing, and Maria Grebenshchikova, a digital phenotyping AI researcher and GenAI expert at HBS’ D^3 Institute. They learned how to bring their respective strengths and knowledge to create an exciting early-stage company. This team cohesion prepared them to go the distance. Reflecting on the experience, Moncada shared: *“The Foundry gave us a unique set of resources at exactly the stage we needed it. From hands-on product help to industry introductions and even funding an MBA intern to help with business development, it was the kind of comprehensive support you rarely find in one place. It gave us the conviction and structure to pivot into a model that could scale and win real customers.”* That foundation paid off. Neru was later accepted into ERA, one of New York’s top accelerator programs, which provided additional resources and exposure. Building on this momentum, the company went on to raise a $4 million venture round at a $16 million valuation cap, with strong demand from both customers and investors. Neru Health’s journey highlights what’s possible when entrepreneurial talent, rigorous mentorship, and industry access converge. From an early idea around sleep to becoming the operating system for chronic care, Neru is now positioned to redefine how patients and providers experience therapy—one device, one treatment, and one life at a time. The IQSS Startup Foundry provides startup resources, support, and networks to social scientists at any Harvard school who are interested in working with an aspiring entrepreneur to explore commercializing research. [ Read more success stories arrow\_circle\_right ](/iqss-startup-foundry-stories) See also:- [ Institute for Quantitative Social Science ](/service/institute-quantitative-social-science) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)