Live better.
Healthier.
Longer.
A longer life matters most when it is a life worth living.
Life is not simply something to make longer. It is something to be lived — with curiosity, relationships, experiences, growth, contribution and connection to the world around us.
Health matters because it gives us more freedom to do those things. And preventing avoidable disease can give us more good years in which to do them.
Much of my work is connected by one ambition: helping create better conditions for people to live better, healthier and longer lives.
Ulrik Ditlev Eriksen
What matters
Life is to be lived.
There is no universal formula for a good life.
For one person it may involve family. For another, exploration, creative work, friendship, learning, achievement, service or simply being present for the people around them.
Most likely, a good life contains several of these things at different times.
What matters is having the opportunity to discover what gives our own lives meaning — and having the health, freedom and circumstances to pursue it.
Relationships
People to care about and people who care about us.
Curiosity
Continuing to learn, explore and understand.
Growth
Being challenged and developing throughout life.
Contribution
Creating value and being useful to other people.
Experience
Being present enough to notice and enjoy life as it happens.
Nature
Recognising that human wellbeing ultimately depends on the living world around us.
Health
Health is not the purpose of life.
It gives us more freedom to live it.
Better health cannot guarantee a good life.
But chronic disease, declining physical function and poor mental wellbeing can gradually narrow the possibilities available to us.
That makes prevention important — not because health should become an obsession, but because preserving health can help preserve independence, relationships, experiences and opportunity.
Human flourishing
More than longevity.
Living longer is only one dimension of progress.
A society in which people live to 100 but are isolated, unhealthy, disengaged or unable to participate is not necessarily a successful longevity society.
The broader goal is human flourishing: creating conditions in which people can stay healthy, form strong relationships, continue developing, participate in society, contribute to others and experience a meaningful life.
- Better
- Quality of life, relationships, curiosity, purpose and opportunity.
- Healthier
- Physical, cognitive and mental health that supports everyday life.
- Longer
- More years in which to experience, contribute and participate.
Human wellbeing ultimately depends on the living world around us.
What I believe
A few principles.
01
Start with people, not technology
Important solutions usually begin with understanding an important human problem — not with searching for somewhere to deploy a technology.
02
Evidence matters
Health, prevention and human wellbeing are too important for hype. Decisions should be informed by the best evidence available while remaining open to better evidence tomorrow.
03
Technology is a tool
AI, digital health and emerging technologies can create extraordinary leverage. But technology only matters when it improves something that matters to people.
04
Prevention deserves more attention
Many of the conditions that eventually limit people's lives develop over years. Helping people act earlier can be more valuable than waiting until disease is advanced.
05
Progress should improve life
Economic growth, innovation and technological progress are valuable when they help people and societies flourish — not simply because they create more activity.
06
We are part of something larger
Individual wellbeing depends on relationships, communities and ultimately the natural environment that supports all human life.
Selected work
Putting ideas into practice.
Ideas matter more when they lead to action.
Over the years, this perspective has led me to build, support and explore different initiatives. Some are companies, some are research and innovation projects, and some are experiments.
The common thread is an attempt to solve meaningful problems and turn knowledge into something useful.
Longevity Institute
Evidence · Prevention · Longevity
Exploring and communicating the evidence behind healthier and longer lives, with particular focus on prevention, lifestyle and chronic disease risk.
Visit Longevity Institute →Vila Health
Digital health · Prevention
Translating health knowledge into practical, personalised support that can help people make sustainable changes in everyday life.
Visit Vila Health →Brain+
Digital therapeutics · Cognitive health
Co-founded Brain+ to explore how digital technology could help address cognitive decline and neurological disease, taking the venture from early concept through product development, funding and public listing.
TalentKompasset
Children · Human potential
Exploring better ways to identify and support children whose abilities and potential may otherwise be overlooked.
These projects are different expressions of the same underlying question:
Can we create better conditions for people to thrive?
The person
The person behind the work
I’m Ulrik Ditlev Eriksen.
For most of my career, I have worked at the intersection of strategy, technology and entrepreneurship — across established companies, venture-backed startups and projects of my own.
The subjects have changed over time, but I increasingly find myself returning to the same underlying question:
How can we use what we know — and what we are now capable of building — to help people live better lives?
More about Ulrik →
Contact
Something worth discussing?
Good ideas often begin with a conversation.
If you are working on something connected to health, prevention, human potential, research, innovation or another meaningful problem, you are welcome to get in touch.