BetternessAI raises $2.5M in Miami

Miami startup Betterness said on April 24 that it closed a $2.5 million seed round and launched Bett-i, a voice-first artificial intelligence life coach. (prnewswire.com) The company said Bett-i is designed to do more than answer questions. Betterness said the system can order a lab, interpret a result, adjust a training plan, cancel a class, or send a recovery check-in. (prnewswire.com) (refreshmiami.com) Betterness was founded by co-chief executives Demian Bellumio and Ari Katz. Bellumio previously helped launch telehealth company Nue Life, and Katz previously worked at Yodle, according to citybiz. (citybiz.co) The company is shifting its pitch from a consumer longevity app to what it calls an operating layer for health and wellness businesses. Refresh Miami reported that Betterness now sees the consumer product as one part of a broader system for clinics, gyms, and wellness brands. (refreshmiami.com) (prnewswire.com) That system rests on what Betterness calls its Model Context Protocol, or MCP. The company said the protocol connects data from labs, wearables, and providers so software agents can act on a person’s health context. (refreshmiami.com) (prnewswire.com) Betterness said Bett-i works across voice, phone, short message service, Telegram, and email, without requiring a dedicated app. Citybiz described the company’s stack as HIPAA-compliant and built to support clinics, gyms, and wellness businesses. (prnewswire.com) (citybiz.co) Investors and advisors in the round include Martin Varsavsky, Justin Stone, Mark Rosenbloom, Rabin Rahmani, and Lloyd Camper, according to citybiz. The company did not disclose a lead investor in the materials reviewed. (citybiz.co) (prnewswire.com) The April 24 announcement also followed the March 2026 debut of Betterness MCP and set up a planned enterprise product called Betterness One. Betterness said that product will target automation for health and wellness business operations on the same foundation as Bett-i. (prnewswire.com) For now, the company is presenting Bett-i as the front door to that larger strategy: a consumer-facing coach that doubles as a test case for software that can run behind clinics and gyms. (refreshmiami.com) (prnewswire.com)