How One Company Is Mining Big Data to Fight DiabetesGlooko's diabetes-management platform allows patients and doctors more information, and investors are interested.

There are 29 million people living with diabetes in the U.S.—more than 9 percent of the population—at an annual cost of $245 billion. Even with an array of devices and drugs available to manage the condition, diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the country.

Rick Altinger, CEO of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Glooko, calls it an unnecessary pandemic. "Properly controlled, with the technology and devices we have today, you can live a healthy life," he explains. "You don't need to die from diabetes."