Calibre Biometrics
Calibre Biometrics

Udi Meirav is set out to improve the world of personal health. With a Ph.D. in physics, Meirav once imagined a life dedicated to research, but it didn't take long for him to realize his temperament was better suited to something else entirely. "The pace of research just didn't match my inner clock," he says. "I don't think I have the patience to be a scientist."

That self-awareness propelled him toward entrepreneurship, and over the past two decades, Meirav has built a career by translating deep scientific understanding into real-world innovations. His ventures have included manufacturing and commercializing some of the most powerful LED technologies in the early 2000s and later joining a company that engineered a way to reduce air conditioning energy usage by cleaning indoor air of CO₂ and volatile organic compounds.

"I have always believed that if you want to avoid having dozens of me too competitors, you have to do something really difficult," Meirav explains. This philosophy underpins his work at Calibre Biometrics, a company he founded after stepping down from his previous venture in 2019. "Calibre is no exception," he adds. "It's another hard problem I felt was worth solving and that I was able to solve."

The idea for Calibre was sparked by his work at the aforementioned company, measuring and controlling gas concentrations in buildings. That work often revolved around tracking carbon dioxide levels, and naturally led him to wonder about the human role in CO₂ generation. "Indoor CO₂ comes from people," Meirav notes. "And that got me thinking about breath and metabolism."

As a technologist already versed in gas measurement, Meirav followed the thread. "There's a whole universe of knowledge about how breath reflects metabolic activity," he says. "But most of that knowledge is locked away in professional sports labs and medical circles." Traditional tools for metabolic measurement are not only expensive but also require trained operators and cumbersome equipment. The goal, then, became clear: build something affordable, accessible, and user-friendly.

The challenge was formidable. "It's not just about measuring the concentration of gases," Meirav explains. "The hardest part is measuring airflow and how much air is actually moving in and out of the lungs. That's a complex physics problem, and that's my wheelhouse."

Working from his own home, Meirav cobbled together early prototypes. "I was amazed by how well it worked," he recalls. "Especially the airflow measurement. That was the big innovation, doing it without tubes or bulky masks." From there, he partnered with hardware and software specialists to turn the prototype into a real product, launching Calibre Biometrics as a consumer health brand with a scientific backbone.

Today, Calibre Biometrics offers a wearable facial device that measures oxygen consumption and CO₂ production in real time, giving users a window into their metabolic rate. In addition, it measures some unconventional metrics such as uniformity of breath rate or the volume of each and every breath taken. The device transmits data to a smartphone app, allowing people to track energy expenditure with precision. Studies have shown that its accuracy rivals lab-grade equipment, yet the device is more compact and dramatically more affordable than traditional setups.

"Most of us don't realize how much our breath can tell us," Meirav says. "And I considered myself a well-informed person, but I had no idea until I started digging into it."

Meirav has immersed himself in the science of respiration. "I have spent years educating myself on this topic," he says. "What I know now is that breath is more than just one metric, but it's a key to understanding how your body works."

Meirav's scientific intuition continues to guide the company's R&D. The latest frontier of innovation for the Calibre device will incorporate machine-learned neural networks to process hundreds of data points per breath. The integration of AI into Calibre's device will not only improve accuracy but also open the door to more personalized health insights in the future.

Yet despite all the advanced tech, Meirav insists the mission is simple. "It's about putting this powerful tool in people's hands. This is the real breakthrough, offering something anyone can use at home, at the gym, or while working. That's a game-changer."

For Meirav, Calibre represents a full-circle moment, a synthesis of physics, entrepreneurship, and a deep curiosity about the human body. And while he doesn't see himself as a traditional scientist, the scientific mindset still fuels his work. "I try to bring that lens to everything I do," he says.