RadarFit: AI-Powered Wellness for the Workplace
Adriemilly Rigo’s story is a common one. She wasn’t feeling her best, battling fatigue, weight gain, and chronic migraines. Then came the diagnosis: fatty liver disease, a serious condition. Fortunately, her company offered a wellness app called RadarFit, which prompted her to sign up. After embracing healthy eating and exercise, her symptoms have dramatically improved. “It’s been wonderful for me,” she says. “Now I challenge myself more and more every day.”
RadarFit, launched in 2020 by a trio of female entrepreneurs in Brazil, leverages the power of artificial intelligence and gamification to promote healthy habits. The startup has quickly grown and now boasts over one million users, primarily focusing on providing a comprehensive health program for businesses.
RadarFit’s primary target is the corporate sector.
“For companies, we solve the problem of high costs from employee health problems and having to invest a lot in health benefits,” explains CEO Jade Utsch Filizzola. This approach is particularly relevant in Brazil, where, like many rapidly urbanizing nations, heart disease and metabolic conditions are on the rise. The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Brazil, for example, is estimated at 35.3 percent, the highest in Latin America.
Many chronic conditions, including NAFLD, are preventable or even reversible through diet and exercise. RadarFit provides companies with a practical solution to address this challenge. They have already signed up over 60 corporate clients and are on track to reach 80 by the end of the year.
The platform is powered by Microsoft Cloud, utilizing Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Copilot Studio. These tools automate marketing and analyze data and user feedback. The impact on employee health has been significant. Samuel Lopes Fontes, who oversees finance and HR at Cooabriel, Rigo’s employer, notes that RadarFit’s prompts encouraged employees who claimed they didn’t have time to exercise to start working out. In another positive shift, colleagues are requesting that Cooabriel stock more fresh produce in the employee kitchen. In the past two years, health complaints among Cooabriel’s employees have decreased by half.
A primary driver behind RadarFit’s success is its gamified approach. “The root cause of the difficulty of achieving a healthy life is the lack of immediate results,” explains Filizzola. The app uses AI, combined with a points system, to incentivize healthy choices. Users upload photos of meals and activities, generating personalized recommendations and earning points that can be exchanged for charitable donations or products.
“For companies, we solve the problem of high costs from employee health problems and having to invest a lot in health benefits,” says Jade Utsch Filizzola.
Different point categories recognize the varying difficulty levels of tasks. For example, a 15-minute workout earns fewer points than a 60-minute session. This system fosters friendly competition among colleagues, which has been shown to encourage greater participation. Users can also opt out of company-wide challenges.
Combining AI with gamification makes the process more engaging. This is according to RadarFit Chief Technology Officer Tatiany Duarte, who designed their first video game at age 15. The result is “much more playful,” she says.
Combining generative AI with gamification turns what could be a dreaded task into something “much more playful” says Tatiany Duarte, Chief Technology Officer of RadarFit.
To earn points, users upload photos of healthy meals and activities, reviewed by AI with oversight from human subject-matter experts. Corporate clients receive an anonymized dashboard that monitors employee activity across four key metrics: healthy eating, hydration, meditation, and physical activity. Companies gain insights into overall trends without identifying specific individuals, allowing for data-driven adjustments.
RadarFit helps companies streamline their wellness programs by offering multiple activities under one umbrella. RadarFit’s genesis stems from the founders’ desire to find time for self-care while building their business; a desire to get healthy.
The three founders say their original idea for RadarFit grew out of their own struggles to find time to take care of themselves while also building a business. From left to right: Tatiany Duarte, Chief Technology Officer, Jade Utsch Filizzola, Chief Executive Officer, and Jennifer Faria, Chief Financial Officer.
The company has been supported by Women Entrepreneurship (WE), a Microsoft initiative, which provided significant funding and mentorship to help the company expand. RadarFit recently received more than 2.5 million reais (approximately $456,000 USD) from WE Ventures, which will be used to improve functionality and accelerate expansion outside of Brazil.
RadarFit has developed innovative solutions to improve employee health and performance. One is a guided meditation feature, which employs AI to guide users through breathing exercises. Early challenges centered on streamlining the review process for user-submitted content, but today’s AI technology has dramatically improved these areas.
“Artificial intelligence allows us to do a lot with a lean team,” CEO Filizzola explains. The app leverages Copilot Studio for further personalization, delivering tailored suggestions based on user goals and preferences. As the user base expands, the company will be able to further refine and improve the RadarFit experience. Lopes Fontes has also noted the improvements to the functionality after the AI upgrade. Lopes Fontes, is now a regular meditator thanks to the app’s guidance. “I really miss it,” he says if unexpected work or family obligations interfere with his routine.
