# Luca Springer

> Luca Springer is the co-founder and CEO of Numen (formerly Cleancard), a San Francisco synthetic-biology company building rapid at-home diagnostic tests that read biomarkers from a urine sample in about 30 minutes. A 2016 German Rhodes Scholar who once planned a career in European politics, he traded the policy track for the lab bench, pairing degrees in computer science and global governance from Oxford with a dual BA from Columbia and Sciences Po. He started the company in 2021 with fellow Rhodes Scholar Thomas Carroll, went through Y Combinator's Summer 2023 batch, and has raised roughly $5.1M to make lab-grade screening as simple as a pregnancy test.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Numen (formerly Cleancard)
- **Organizations:** Numen, Cleancard, Stockdale Street, Schmidt Futures, Y Combinator (S23)
- **Nationality:** German-Austrian (dual citizen)
- **Education:** MSc, Computer Science, University of Oxford, MSc Global Governance & Diplomacy / Master of Public Policy, University of Oxford (Blavatnik School of Government), BA, Philosophy (concentration in Business Management), Columbia University, BA, Politics, Law and Economics, Sciences Po
- **Known for:** Named a 2016 German Rhodes Scholar - one of a small number selected worldwide that year, Co-founded and leads a Y Combinator-backed (S23) synthetic-biology company, Earned two master's degrees from Oxford and a dual BA from Columbia and Sciences Po

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Named a German Rhodes Scholar (Class of 2016); heads to Oxford for graduate study
- **2018** — Studies at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government, focusing on migration and education policy
- **2021** — Co-founds Cleancard with fellow Rhodes Scholar Thomas Carroll
- **2023** — Named a Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum Fellow; Cleancard joins Y Combinator's Summer 2023 batch
- **2024** — Company last raised funding (Oct 2024); roughly $5.1M total raised to date
- **2025** — Operating as Numen, leading a ~19-person team in San Francisco

## Achievements

- Named a 2016 German Rhodes Scholar - one of a small number selected worldwide that year
- Co-founded and leads a Y Combinator-backed (S23) synthetic-biology company
- Earned two master's degrees from Oxford and a dual BA from Columbia and Sciences Po
- Selected as a 2023 Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum Fellow
- Raised approximately $5.1M to commercialize rapid at-home diagnostics

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Company completed its most recent fundraise, bringing total raised to roughly $5.1M.
- **2023-08** — Cleancard launched publicly through Y Combinator's Summer 2023 batch.

## Links

- Website: https://cleancard.bio
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-springer-b3801b8a

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/luca-springer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11