AI for Personalized Health: EXIST-Funded Start-up at the Associate Professorship of Didactics in Sport and Health

The Associate Professorship of Didactics in Sport and Health is supporting a new start-up project funded by the EXIST Business Start-up Grant: With the app “Zura,” an interdisciplinary team of researchers is developing an AI-based platform for personalized fitness and health coaching. The goal is to intelligently connect individual health data and enable preventive, tailored health recommendations in real time.

The project was initiated by Amir Zahiri, Mahsa Iraniara and Saswat Swain. Prof. Dr. Filip Mess, Head of the Associate Professorship of Didactics in Sport and Health, supervises the international team. The project is funded through the EXIST Business Start-up Grant by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which supports scientific ideas on their path to market-ready business models.

The funding is closely tied to specific development goals: Within twelve months, the idea is expected to evolve into a viable start-up venture. “The process is highly structured and requires a high level of quality both in the application and in its implementation,” says Prof. Mess.

Digital health platform as a “Health Operating System”

At the core of the project is “Zura Health OS,” an AI-based platform that integrates various areas of health into a single system, including fitness and training, nutrition, sleep, and mental health. The key technological innovation lies in the integration of diverse data sources. Wearables, apps, and other digital tools are brought together on a central platform. Based on this, an AI-driven coaching approach analyzes the individual needs of users.

In addition, Zura follows the concept of an “adoption layer”: this layer is designed not only to generate recommendations but also to learn how users actually integrate health advice into their daily lives. It adapts the timing, format, level of difficulty, and depth of explanation of recommendations individually. The aim is to transform AI-driven health intelligence into sustainable behavior with as little friction as possible.

“The app brings together data streams that were previously separated. This allows us to provide personalized recommendations—moving away from standardized solutions toward individualized health promotion,” explains Zahiri.

A central component is a 24/7 AI coach (“Zura Voice”) that uses multimodal data analysis. This includes, for example, movement analysis via computer vision, personalized training and nutrition plans, and the early detection of fatigue or injury risks.

Interdisciplinary team and international perspectives

The founding team combines expertise from computer science, engineering, business administration, and data science. This is complemented by scientific guidance from sport and health research. “Interdisciplinarity is essential, especially in the field of digital health. Topics such as artificial intelligence, prevention, and health behavior need to be considered together,” emphasizes Prof. Mess.

The international orientation also plays a key role. “The app is not intended to work only for a specific cultural context but aims to reach people worldwide. A team with diverse perspectives is a major advantage in achieving this,” Mess adds.

From idea to market readiness

Even before receiving funding, an initial test version of the platform was trialed with more than 50 users. The team is currently working on completing the beta version, which will be further validated in an extended testing phase, including with students. “The goal is to develop a version by mid-year that is stable enough to enable the transition to a formal start-up,” explains Mess.

Contribution to research and teaching within the department

Beyond its economic potential, the project also provides important impulses for research and teaching. In particular, the combination of digitalization, prevention, and health promotion could play a key role in the future development of academic programs.

“Projects like this demonstrate how we can translate scientific insights into practical applications. At the same time, they foster entrepreneurial thinking among our students,” says Mess. “Entrepreneurship is an important part of our work. It’s about having the courage to implement ideas and explore new paths—even if that involves certain risks.”

The “Zura” project exemplifies this approach: it combines cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence with expertise in health sciences and demonstrates how a scientific idea can evolve into a scalable product.

To the homepage of the Associate Professorship of Didactics in Sport and Health
To the homepage of the “Zura” project

Contact

Prof. Dr. Filip Mess
Associate Professorship of Didactics in Sport and Health
Am Olympiacampus 11
80809 Munich

Tel.: +49 89 289 24520
Email: filip.mess(at)tum.de

Text: Bastian Daneyko
Photos: Private