• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, December 29, 2015

A Dentsu investment arm focused on startups has taken an undisclosed stake in a San Diego-based technology company that has created a consumer device for tracking health information.

The device is called Cue. It’s a cube-shaped device into which diagnostic cartridges are inserted to provide at-home analysis of healthcare data together with a smartphone application that advises users what steps to take based on the analyses.  

The device analyzes small samples of blood, saliva or mucus that are collected and added to a color-coded cartridge which is then inserted into the device.

With Cue, a user can track health indicators such as vitamin D or testosterone deficiencies, inflammation, flu and fertility. After determining an issue, such as inflammation, the Cue app will make a recommendation, such as drinking a smoothie that consists of healthy greens.

After approval from regulators has been obtained, the company intends to launch the product in the EU and Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2016. Dentsu stated that the device should be available in the U.S. sometime during 2016 and in Japan in 2017. 

In the future, it is expected that Cue will be able to handle twenty health indicators.

The holding company said that Dentsu Ventures was making the investment amid a “growing consumer interest in health.” The company indicated that it intends to provide marketing support for the distribution of the Cue device as it rolls out globally. 

While Dentsu didn’t disclose its stake in the firm, Cue Inc. earlier this year raised $7.5 million in a funding round led by Sherpa Ventures. Other participants in the investment round included Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff and former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina.