TimeTeller

Overview

TimeTeller is a Hamburg-based digital-health startup, founded in 2023 as a spin-off of Charité Berlin, that develops a saliva test to measure the body's circadian rhythm so that drug doses can be timed, with cancer therapy as the first target. Prof. Dr. Angela Relógio is founder and CEO, and Dr. Benjamin Dose is co-founder and COO. The company's website is https://www.timeteller-health.com .

Why this entity matters

Circadian medicine, or chronotherapy, asks whether the same drug works better or has fewer side effects at a particular time of day. TimeTeller is one of the few DACH startups turning that research question into a diagnostic product. It also illustrates the Berlin-to-Hamburg spin-off route, in which a Charité research group moved into a startup supported by a digital-health accelerator, a regional innovation programme and a specialist venture investor.

Company background

Startup City Hamburg and the MSH Medical School Hamburg describe TimeTeller as founded in 2023 as a Charité spin-off, based at MSH in Hamburg. The research behind it was developed in Angela Relógio's group at Charité, and the team joined the Berlin Institute of Health's Digital Health Accelerator in 2020 (BIH project page; Startuprad.io interview). The product is a saliva test: samples taken at different times of day are analysed in a laboratory and an algorithm estimates the person's internal clock, with the output indicating when to take a treatment and not which treatment to take (Startuprad.io interview; Startup City Hamburg). A 2023 profile reported a planned market launch in 2027 and funding exclusively from a Hamburg innovation programme. Ascenion announced on 7 August 2025 an investment by capacura, a Cologne-based venture investor, and Startup City Hamburg reported it on 18 August 2025 as part of a larger round not yet closed; the amount was undisclosed. Awards named in the sources include Newcomer of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2024 for Relógio, and, per a single MSH press release, the Hamburger Gründerpreis 2025. Startuprad.io has not independently verified clinical results, approval timelines, revenue or headcount.

Role in the ecosystem

TimeTeller belongs to the DACH digital-health and systems-medicine segment, bridging university research in Berlin and Hamburg with oncology clinics and statutory health insurance. Techniker Krankenkasse lists a care contract with TimeTeller on its own website and the MSH press release names it as a partner, which extends the company beyond the clinical setting; the scope of that arrangement has not been independently detailed.

Selected relationships and affiliations

Public sources describe the following relationships. Charité Berlin is the research origin and MSH Medical School Hamburg is the current academic base. The BIH Digital Health Accelerator supported the early development. capacura is named as a venture investor in 2025, and Ascenion, the technology-transfer partner of Charité and the Berlin Institute of Health, supports the company and is reported to hold shares. Techniker Krankenkasse is named as a partner on its own website and in the MSH release. The German Startup Awards, which have their own entity page in the Startuprad.io ledger, recognised Relógio in 2024. The scope of each relationship is as reported by the named sources and has not been independently detailed for this record.

Startuprad.io relevance

Startuprad.io lists two posts under the TimeTeller tag. The first is the September 2024 founder interview in which Angela Relógio explains circadian rhythms, the saliva test, the lab-plus-software product design, patent filings and the German Startup Awards 2024 recognition. The second is a March 2026 guide to podcast production and distribution in the DACH region, where TimeTeller appears only as a tag and a related-article link, so it is a weak mention and not substantive coverage. The coverage is below the preferred depth of three articles.

Public source context

This record draws on the Startuprad.io interview archive, the BIH Digital Health Accelerator project page at https://dha.bihealth.org/project/timeteller/ , two Startup City Hamburg articles including the capacura announcement, Ascenion's investor announcement, the Techniker Krankenkasse service page and a September 2025 press release from MSH Medical School Hamburg published through the Informationsdienst Wissenschaft. Funding, award, partnership and approval statements are as reported by those sources. The company's own website at https://www.timeteller-health.com was not reviewed in depth, and Startuprad.io has not independently verified medical or commercial claims.

Startuprad.io coverage

Podcast Production & Distribution Guide for Startups in Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Published: 10 March 2026
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Explainer
https://www.startuprad.io/post/podcast-production-and-distribution-strategy-in-germany-austria-and-switzerland

Angela Relógio on How TimeTeller is Changing Cancer Treatment One Clock at a Time
Published: 12 September 2024
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/angela-rel%C3%B3gio-on-how-timeteller-is-changing-cancer-treatment-one-clock-at-a-time

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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/timeteller .