The Israeli wellbeing group movement has bought the technology and intellectual property of dacadoo, the Zurich-based digital health company founded in 2010 by Peter Ohnemus. The deal was announced on 6 November 2026 in a press release relayed by Startupticker.ch. It covers the software, the source code and 51 registered patents. The company dacadoo ag itself is in liquidation.
What exactly is movement buying?
Movement is taking over assets, not a company. According to the press release, the purchase includes dacadoo's software, its source code and its intellectual property, backed by 51 registered patents. dacadoo's health engagement platform is used by insurers, health organisations and large employers.
These clients are spread across dozens of countries, according to the press release: the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany and several other European markets. Movement presents the deal as a step in the global expansion it recently announced.
"Stable continuity for them is our first priority," says Yogev Matok, CEO of movement's Wellbeing division, referring to dacadoo's clients. They can keep using the platform, now alongside movement's own tools.
Asset deal or company takeover: what is the difference?
In a share deal, the buyer becomes the owner of the company, with everything it contains. Here, the press release only mentions assets: the technology, the patents and the code. Movement therefore does not become the owner of dacadoo ag, the Zurich legal entity, which is going through its own liquidation procedure.
The press release mentions neither a takeover of the company nor a takeover of its staff. For clients, the promise concerns the use of the platform. It does not say how their contracts pass from dacadoo ag to movement.
Fifteen years of dacadoo: funding rounds and partnerships
According to the Wikipedia encyclopaedia, Peter Ohnemus, a Swiss serial entrepreneur, founded the company in Zurich in 2010 under the name QUENTIQ AG. It became dacadoo ag in January 2012. Its first platform went live in December 2011.
The model is described as B2B2C: dacadoo sells to companies, which offer the app to their own customers. Insurers thus launch the platform under their own brand. At its core is a health index, the Health Score, rated from 0 to 1000. According to Wikipedia, it is based on more than 300 million person-years of clinical data. The company points out that this score is not a medical diagnostic tool.
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | QUENTIQ AG founded in Zurich by Peter Ohnemus | Wikipedia |
| December 2011 | First platform goes live | Wikipedia |
| January 2012 | Name changed to dacadoo ag | Wikipedia |
| July 2017 | Partnerships with UnitedHealth Group and Dutch insurer Menzis, launch of dacadoo GO | Netzwoche |
| 21 July 2017 | Capital increase led by Rakuten Capital | Moneycab |
| 6 November 2026 | Assets bought by movement, dacadoo ag in liquidation | Startupticker.ch |
In July 2017, dacadoo presented its strategy to the press in Zurich, reports the magazine Netzwoche. The company then announced a partnership with UnitedHealth Group, one of the world's largest health insurers. It was to build a lifestyle platform with Optum, the group's IT arm.
On the same day, dacadoo announced an agreement with Menzis, a Dutch insurer. According to Peter Ohnemus, Menzis grants a premium discount to customers who use the app. Netzwoche also recalled earlier milestones: an investment from Samsung and a health app launched with Sanagate.
On 21 July 2017, according to Moneycab, dacadoo closed a capital increase with Rakuten Capital as lead investor. The venture capital arm of the Japanese group Rakuten invested through its Rakuten FinTech Fund. Michael Piechalak, of Rakuten Capital, then joined the board of directors.
What does the deal change for client insurers?
In the short term, the press release promises continuity of service. dacadoo's clients keep the platform and gain access to movement's tools. These are behaviour change platforms designed with health insurers, health funds and large organisations.
The new owner claims more than 2.5 million users. The press release gives no comparable figure for dacadoo. Movement cites a study published in Communications Medicine, a journal in the Nature portfolio, with researchers from Harvard Medical School and Tel Aviv University.
According to movement, users of its platform show a lower incidence than matched non-users:
- 18% lower for type 2 diabetes;
- 9% lower for strokes;
- 5% lower for cardiovascular disease.
These figures relate to movement's tools, not dacadoo's. A comparison with non-users does not on its own measure the effect of an app: people who sign up may differ from others from the outset.
Digital health in Switzerland: a Zurich company's technology passes into foreign hands
As early as 2017, Peter Ohnemus considered the Swiss healthcare system "sick", according to Netzwoche. He saw prevention and digitalisation as the answer to the rising costs weighing on health insurers.
The deal joins other takeovers of Swiss start-ups by foreign groups followed by 2clics, such as the acquisition of Forentec by Lineal in digital forensics. In health, 2clics has also covered the end of the Tech4Eva accelerator, a programme in French-speaking Switzerland dedicated to femtech.
For a Swiss policyholder, the direct effect remains hard to gauge. The white-label model means the user sees the name of their insurer, not that of the provider. The press release names no current Swiss client of dacadoo.
What we do not know yet
- The price: neither movement nor dacadoo has disclosed the amount of the transaction.
- Jobs in Zurich: the press release says nothing about the fate of dacadoo's Swiss team.
- The liquidation: the press release specifies neither the date it was opened nor the name of the liquidator.
