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Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.

Ashley Capoot | CNBC

As it turns out, exercise is good for you. So is sleep, and unfortunately, so are vegetables. 

I’ve heard these health adages hundreds of times before, but they truly began to hit home for me this winter as I tested out a metabolic health platform from the startup Signos. In short, the company offers a subscription service that includes a small continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which you stick on your arm or abdomen, that sends that data to the Signos app which, in turn, aims to help you lose weight by keeping track of your blood sugar.

The subscription price varies depending on the plan you pick. A one-month plan starts at $449, but a 6-month plan starts at about $143 a month if you pay upfront. But services like this, once reserved for diabetics, may soon offer a whole new revenue stream for health companies. Dexcom, for example, recently received FDA clearance for its over-the-counter Stelo product, expected to launch this summer. Meanwhile, Signos competes with other firms like NutriSense, Veri and Levels.

I wanted to get a first-hand understanding of what these glucose monitors are like, so I gave Signos’ latest system, which uses a Dexcom G7 monitor, a try. Here’s what I learned.

Signos

Founded in 2018, Signos uses continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, and an artificial intelligence-powered app to help people better understand their metabolisms. The company gives users personalized insights into how their bodies respond to specific foods and when they should exercise to get the best results for weight loss. 

Glucose is a type of sugar we receive from food, and it’s the body’s main source of energy. A CGM is a small sensor that pokes through the skin to track an individual’s blood glucose levels, or blood sugar levels, in real-time. The sensor is usually worn on the upper arm or abdomen, and it can wirelessly transmit data to a smartphone. 

CGMs are primarily used by people with diabetes since they can help patients get alerted to emergencies. But Signos’ CGM system is meant for average consumers, so it is not intended for diabetes management. Other companies like Abbott Laboratories are also launching consumer-facing CGM systems in the U.S. this year. 

Signos’ platform teaches users how their daily habits like diet, hydration, exercise, stress and sleep affect their glucose and can cause it to spike. 

Glucose spikes occur when the amount of sugar present in the bloodstream rapidly increases. This often happens after eating. In the short term, spikes can cause feelings of lethargy and fatigue, but high blood sugar can lead to more serious health problems like diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease over time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Everyone’s glucose levels are variable, so spikes and dips are inevitable, but Signos aims to help people reduce the intensity and frequency of their spikes. The company says that maintaining relatively stable glucose levels can help people improve the health of their metabolism, lose weight and ultimately reduce the risk of chronic disease. 

Getting set up

Woman with Signos wearable and app

Source: Signos

To get started with Signos, I had to take a quick questionnaire that asked me for some basic biological information and details about my medical history. I submitted my answers for review by an independent physician, and my CGM prescription was approved and began processing for shipment a few hours later.

After a couple of days, my kit arrived in a brown Signos box. It includes an instruction manual, the CGMs, alcohol wipes and athletic patches to put over the CGM once it’s applied. I followed the instructions in the manual and downloaded the Signos app, which prompted me to set up accounts with Signos and the CGM company Dexcom

Dexcom makes the CGMs that Signos uses, though Dexcom’s products are exclusively designed for patients diagnosed with diabetes. Signos is using Dexcom’s CGMs as part of a clinical study approved by an institutional review board designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which monitors biomedical research involving real people, Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer, Signos’ co-founder and CEO, told CNBC in October. 

Dexcom Ventures also backs Signos as an investor, and the firm participated in the $20 million funding round that Signos announced last fall.  

Signos’ platform works with Dexcom’s G6 CGM and the newer G7 CGM. I tested the platform using the G7, which Signos launched in January. The G6 and the G7 sensors last for 10 days, and I went through three G7s during my trial. 

Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.

Ashley Capoot | CNBC

Once I had set up my accounts, it was time to put on my first sensor, which I was nervous about.

I’m generally fine around needles, though I tend to look away if I have to get a shot at the doctor’s office. The CGM’s needle is small – it looks like someone clicked a mechanical pencil a few times, for comparison – but I can’t say I was excited to stick it into my arm. 

Much to my relief, applying the sensor is easy and painless.

The Signos app walked me through the process step by step, offering a one-minute video and a series of GIFs I could watch. I cleaned the back of my left arm with an alcohol wipe, placed the applicator there, pressed the button on the applicator and popped the CGM, needle and all, right onto my arm. The G7 is white, about the size of a quarter, and maybe half an inch thick.  

I paired the CGM to the Signos app by enabling Bluetooth and scanning the corresponding QR code on my applicator. Once the CGM was applied and paired to my app, I put a purple athletic patch on top to help protect the sensor from tugging, sweat and water. 

It took the sensor about 30 minutes to adjust to my body before it was warmed up and ready to go.

What’s good

I was worried that the CGM would be painful or cumbersome, but I forgot about it often, and it’s easy to wear normal clothes and jackets over it, even if they have tight sleeves. 

I experienced some sensitivity for a couple days when sleeping on my left side, particularly after changing out the sensor. My upper arm felt a little tender, like there was a light bruise. However, I chose to wear the CGM in the same place on my left arm each time, and I think I could have avoided that sensitivity if I had switched between my left arm and my right arm.

I had never seen or interpreted glucose data before, and I thought the Signos platform did a nice job explaining concepts and breaking them down. The app led me through a series of short articles and activities to get started, like how to log my meals and exercise. 

It also introduced me to the concept of my “optimal glucose range,” which is where Signos wants you to try and keep your glucose levels. Signos starts by setting the upper bound of the range at 120 mg/dL, and the lower bound at 80 mg/dL, but the app’s algorithm adjusts it based on your body’s patterns. My upper bound was eventually adjusted to 126 mg/dL, for instance. 

When you look at the Signos home page, you can see your real-time glucose reading, your glucose level graph (which includes a shaded area to indicate your optimal range), and the percentage of time you’ve spent in the range each day. This could be particularly beneficial for folks who may be prediabetic and want to keep an eye on their levels over time.

Once I got the hang of the basics, Signos prompted me with more activities and articles that helped me experiment and deepen my understanding of my blood sugar. For instance, one activity encouraged me to try exercising right after a meal, and when I did, I saw it drastically reduced the spike I was experiencing. 

Another activity had me try and guess what I thought my glucose levels were at different points throughout the day. I was surprised how quickly I began to understand the correlation between how I was feeling and my current reading. You can skip activities if you don’t want to do them, but on the whole, I found them interesting and useful.  

Signos also has registered dieticians on staff, and users can ask them questions via chat, email or through a phone consultation. I set up a meeting after my first week wearing a CGM, and I found it very helpful. I asked a bunch of questions about my data and the Signos app itself, and I also got some tips about what to try and work on next.

The Signos platform.

I knew the experience would be personalized, but I don’t think I’ve ever had this much specific insight into what is happening in my body. I found it fascinating to see how I responded to different foods, and there were some surprises.

I frequently eat instant oatmeal for breakfast, for example, and have always thought of it as a relatively healthy meal. But in actuality, I learned oatmeal causes my glucose to spike significantly. On Feb. 9, oatmeal raised my levels from 88 mg/dL to 167 mg/dL. So while it may be a great breakfast for some people, oatmeal isn’t necessarily the best choice for me. 

I was less surprised by my reactions to many other foods, but I still found it valuable to reinforce these concepts with data. Processed foods like chips and sweets caused large spikes in my levels, but fruits, vegetables and protein-rich meals had a much more gradual impact. I eat greek yogurt as a snack a lot, for instance, and I found that it hardly caused my levels to spike.  

It felt powerful to see how my body responded to nutritious food and it definitely made me more conscious of the choices I was making.   

Ashley Capoot wearing a CGM.

Ashley Capoot | CNBC

As it turns out, spikes in your blood sugar can be caused by a whole lot more than just food. That was news to me. In addition to logging meals and exercise, the Signos app has a “Tags” feature where you can write notes and select from a list of more than 60 different possible spike-causing culprits. Some of the options include stress, travel, medication, sickness, crying and even a hot shower. 

I learned that my glucose tends to spike while I’m writing a breaking news story (who knew!), and I spend less time in my optimal range when I’m feeling tired. I had a particularly stressful week at work in January, and looking back at my readings, I can definitely tell. 

I found it helpful to visualize how all sorts of different factors, some within my control and some not, could impact my blood sugar. It really drives home the idea that you are affected by the world around you.     

And for bonus points, the CGM is a great conversation starter. 

I found that my friends, family and colleagues were really interested in the device and what I was learning from it. Since it’s not all that common for the average person to wear CGMs yet, I think there was an element of novelty there. 

Finally, it’s easy to take off the CGM when it expires. After the 10 days are up, you simply grab the adhesive and peel it off like a sticker.  

What’s bad

Signos’ user interface is easy to use, but some features were more intuitive than others. 

It took me a few days to learn how to input my sleep, for instance, because I couldn’t figure out how to log the hours correctly. It was also hard to gauge how much detail to use when logging my meals, as I tended to keep my entries to just a few words. I might have gotten more specific insights and fine-tuned my algorithm further if I had more guidance there. 

Additionally, it wasn’t always possible for me to engage with the platform’s alerts and activities, particularly during the work day. 

After eating a meal, I would often get a “Fast Rise” notification from my Signos app, which indicates that a glucose spike is occurring. The notification encourages users to engage in 20 to 30 minutes of “brisk walking” or 10 to 15 minutes of plyometrics, a form of high-intensity exercise, to help reduce the spike. I work in-person at CNBC’s newsroom three days a week, so this often wasn’t realistic for me to do. 

I asked about this notification when I met with the Signos dietitian, and she told me that any movement is beneficial, even if it’s just a quick walk up or down a flight of stairs. I tried to make sure to take a lap around the newsroom once I learned that, but I think it would have been helpful to know upfront, too. 

A “Fast Rise” notification on Signos.

Subscriptions to Signos are expensive, and for many users, CGMs are not covered by insurance yet. Customers who sign up for Signos can choose a one-month, three-month or six-month plan.

The steep price tag is definitely worth considering. According to its website, Signos said users who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may be able to get the cost of the CGM covered by their insurer. But users who do not have type 2 diabetes may be out of luck. 

The company said some people may be able to use their Health Savings Account reimbursement funds to cover the Signos, but that it “is not responsible for reimbursement in any capacity,” according to the site.  

In other words, users who want to try and reduce the costs of the platform have to try and figure it out themselves. 

I also found myself checking the Signos app frequently, almost like it became another form of social media. This gave me some pause. 

I have been fortunate to have had a relatively positive relationship with food throughout my life, and I’m also not someone who experiences much health anxiety. Even so, I tried to be very conscious of my mindset and attitude toward the Signos platform. I treated Signos like a tool and a learning experience, and I really didn’t want to put too much emphasis on the numbers. 

I knew that approach would be best for me, and it worked well for the most part. However, I did catch myself feeling guilty about large spikes on a few occasions. 

As I noticed those feelings, and how often I was checking the app, I felt like it was pretty easy to see how the platform could end up being harmful for some users’ mental health, particularly if they’ve struggled with body image or eating disorders. 

Signos said all prospective members are asked about their medical history, including disordered eating, in their initial medical questionnaire. If someone is actively experiencing or in recovery from an eating disorder, Signos said the independent physician would not approve them for participation in the Signos program.

The company said it does not recommend any specific eating style, and there are metabolic health coaches on staff to help check in with users about how they feel. 

As with most things, I think trusting yourself is key here. If you don’t think accessing your metabolic data would be good for your mental health, then using a CGM is probably not a great idea. You can also always check in with your doctor to decide if the technology is right for you. 

Takeaways

The Signos experience really depends on you, the user. 

The app isn’t going to do the learning or make lifestyle changes for you, so if you aren’t willing to take the time to log your meals and complete activities, chances are you won’t get much out of the platform. 

As a young and relatively healthy individual, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Signos, but I learned a lot about how my body responds to my diet, sleep, exercise and stress. The CGM is like a little window into what goes on beneath the skin, and I think it’s easy to see why it’s a valuable tool. After just one month of use, I have a deeper understanding of why I feel sleepy, lethargic or energized.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I return to CGM systems at different stages of my life to better understand how I am responding to my nutrition and the world around me.  

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USDC stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO as public markets open to crypto

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USDC stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO as public markets open to crypto

Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO, Circle 

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The S1 lays the groundwork for Circle’s long-anticipated entry into the public markets.

While the filing does not yet disclose the number of shares or a price range, sources told Fortune that Circle plans to move forward with a public filing in late April and is targeting a market debut as early as June.

JPMorgan Chase and Citi are reportedly serving as lead underwriters, and the company is seeking a valuation between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to Fortune.

This marks Circle’s second attempt at going public. A prior SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp collapsed in late 2022 amid regulatory challenges. Since then, Circle has made strategic moves to position itself closer to the heart of global finance — including the announcement last year that it would relocate its headquarters from Boston to One World Trade Center in New York City.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

Circle is best known as the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

Pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar and backed by cash and short-term Treasury securities, USDC has roughly $60 billion in circulation.

Circle is best known as the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

Pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar and backed by cash and short-term Treasury securities, USDC has roughly $60 billion in circulation. It makes up about 26% of the total market cap for stablecoins, behind Tether‘s 67% dominance. Its market cap has grown 36% this year, however, compared with Tether’s 5% growth.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on the company’s most recent earnings call that it has a “stretch goal to make USDC the number 1 stablecoin.” 

The company’s push into public markets reflects a broader moment for the crypto industry, which is navigating renewed political favor under a more crypto-friendly U.S. administration. The stablecoin sector is ramping up as the industry grows increasingly confident that the crypto market will get its first piece of U.S. legislation passed and implemented this year, focusing on stablecoins.

Stablecoins’ growth could have investment implications for crypto exchanges like Robinhood and Coinbase as they integrate more of them into crypto trading and cross-border transfers. Coinbase also has an agreement with Circle to share 50% of the revenue of its USDC stablecoin.

The stablecoin market has grown about 11% so far this year and about 47% in the past year, and has become a “systemically important” part of the crypto market, according to Bernstein. Historically, digital assets in this sector have been used for trading and as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi), and crypto investors watch them closely for evidence of demand, liquidity and activity in the market.

More recently, however, rhetoric around stablecoins’ ability to help preserve U.S. dollar dominance – by exporting dollar utility internationally and ensuring demand for U.S. government debt, which backs nearly all dollar-denominated stablecoins – has grown louder.

A successful IPO would make Circle one of the most prominent crypto-native firms to list on a U.S. exchange — an important signal for both investors and regulators as digital assets become more entwined with the traditional financial system.

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Hims & Hers shares rise as company adds new weight-loss medications to platform

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Hims & Hers shares rise as company adds new weight-loss medications to platform

The Hims app arranged on a smartphone in New York on Feb. 12, 2025.

Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Hims & Hers Health shares closed up 5% on Tuesday after the company announced patients can access Eli Lilly‘s weight loss medication Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, as well as the generic injection liraglutide, through its platform.

Zepbound, Mounjaro and liraglutide are part of the class of weight loss medications called GLP-1s, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. Hims & Hers launched a weight loss program in late 2023, but its GLP-1 offerings have evolved as the company has contended with a volatile supply and regulatory environment.

Lilly’s weekly injections Zepbound and Mounjaro will cost patients $1,899 a month, according to the Hims & Hers website. The generic liraglutide will cost $299 a month, but it requires a daily injection and can be less effective than other GLP-1 medications.

“As we look ahead, we plan to continue to expand our weight loss offering to deliver an even more holistic, personalized experience,” Dr. Craig Primack, senior vice president of weight loss at Hims & Hers, wrote in a blog post.

A Lilly spokesperson said in a statement that the company has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers and noted that Zepbound is available at lower costs for people who are insured for the product or for those who buy directly from the company. 

In May, Hims & Hers started prescribing compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk‘s GLP-1 weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy. The offering was immensely popular and helped generate more than $225 million in revenue for the company in 2024.

But compounded drugs can traditionally only be mass produced when the branded medications treatments are in shortage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in February that the shortage of semaglutide injections products had been resolved.

That meant Hims & Hers had to largely stop offering the compounded medications, though some consumers may still be able to access personalized doses if it’s clinically applicable. 

During the company’s quarterly call with investors in February, Hims & Hers said its weight loss offerings will primarily consist of its oral medications and liraglutide. The company said it expects its weight loss offerings to generate at least $725 million in annual revenue, excluding contributions from compounded semaglutide.

But the company is still lobbying for compounded medications. A pop up on Hims & Hers’ website, which was viewed by CNBC, encourages users to “use your voice” and urge Congress and the FDA to preserve access to compounded treatments.

With Tuesday’s rally, Hims and Hers shares are up about 27% in 2025 after soaring 172% last year.

WATCH: Hims & Hers shares tumble over concerns around weight-loss business

Hims & Hers shares tumble over concerns around weight-loss business

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Meta’s head of AI research announces departure

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Meta's head of AI research announces departure

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds a smartphone as he makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.

Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters

Meta’s head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company. 

Joelle Pineau, the company’s vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30. 

Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google.

Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans.

“As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” Pineau wrote. “I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people.”

Vice President of AI Research and Head of FAIR at Meta Joelle Pineau attends a technology demonstration at the META research laboratory in Paris on February 7, 2025.

Stephane De Sakutin | AFP | Getty Images

Pineau was one of Meta’s top AI researchers and led the company’s fundamental AI research unit, or FAIR, since 2023. There, she oversaw the company’s cutting-edge computer science-related studies, some of which are eventually incorporated into the company’s core apps. 

She joined the company in 2017 to lead Meta’s Montreal AI research lab. Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University, where she is a co-director of its reasoning and learning lab.

Some of the projects Pineau helped oversee include Meta’s open-source Llama family of AI models and other technologies like the PyTorch software for AI developers.

Pineau’s departure announcement comes a few weeks ahead of Meta’s LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. There, the company is expected to detail its latest version of Llama. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported to, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents, the latest craze in generative AI. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot, CNBC reported in February

“We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them.” 

Pineau did not reveal her next role but said she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.”

WATCH: Meta awaits antitrust fine from EU

Meta awaits antitrust fine from EU

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