W Health Ventures invests in digital health companies that are transforming healthcare delivery. It designs, builds, and grows healthcare companies that address critical unmet healthcare needs and simplify the experience for patients and providers. WHV focuses on highly scalable and impactful ideas that leverage the power of AI and technology. The firm was founded in 2020 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

W Health Ventures

CIGNA Corporation operates as a health service company in the United States. It helps to improve the health, well-being, and peace of mind of those it serves by making health care simple, affordable, and predictable.

Cigna

Blue Shield of California is a non-profit organization that offers plans, comprehensive benefits, and access to various doctor networks in the United State. The organization complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or gender. Blue Shield of California was founded in 1939 by Natalie Cann.  It is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Blue Shield of California

CareFirst is a not-for-profit, non-stock health services company.

CareFirst

Boston Children's Hospital provides pediatric health care services. The hospital provides surgical, radiological examination, and clinical and cancer research services. Additionally, it offers diabetes, endocrinology, gastroenterology, urology, neonatology, orthopedics, and pulmonology healthcare services. The hospital also provides community service programs and postdoctoral training services. Boston Children's Hospital was founded in 1869 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston Children's Hospital operates as a subsidiary of Children's Medical Center Corporation.

Boston Children's Hospital

LifeBridge Health is a regional health care organization based in northwest Baltimore city and Baltimore County.

LifeBridge Health

Healthworx operates at the intersection of healthcare and innovation by creating, supporting, and investing in companies that are improving healthcare quality, accessibility and affordability. As the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst of Maryland, Inc., Healthworx envisions a healthier future for all people by changing the way health works.

Healthworx

Route 66 Ventures is a private investment firm focused on helping entrepreneurs shape the financial services landscape of tomorrow by providing Venture Capital and Credit solutions to emerging financial technology and services companies.   Route 66’s Venture Capital team invests globally in early and growth stage disruptors, incumbents and service providers throughout various sectors in the financial services ecosystem.   Route 66’s Credit team seeks to fund alternative lending platforms and business models with balance sheet needs by purchasing whole loans or providing secured debt facilities.

Route 66 Ventures

Ryse Health

Ryse Health is a care platform that helps individuals and families with chronic disease. Its platform provides therapeutics and technology, day-to-day support, coaching, and analytics related to diabetes, thereby enabling patients to have easy in-person and virtual access to an endocrinologist and full care team. It aims to create a world that is free of the burden of chronic disease.  The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

Ryse Health is a tech-driven chronic care management startup that connects type 2 diabetes patients with a care team consisting of an endocrinologist, a diabetes educator, a health coach, a dietitian, and a behavioral health specialist. The firm delivers care in person at its physical clinics and virtually via an online platform. Its services were available in two states, DC and Baltimore (Maryland), as of April 2022.

Membership-based, non-insurance healthcare companies helping maintain a steady state of well being.

Preventive Healthcare

CareFirst, Ryse Health partner to take on uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes

Ryse Health is a tech-driven chronic care management startup that connects type 2 diabetes patients with a care team consisting of an endocrinologist, a diabetes educator, a health coach, a dietitian, and a behavioral health specialist. The firm delivers care in person at its physical clinics and virtually via an online platform.&nbsp; Its services were available in two states, DC and Baltimore (Maryland), as of April 2022.The online platform includes a glucose monitor and a mobile app that gathers patient vitals, provides self-management tools and allows users to communicate with their care team. Additionally, it supports glucose management by allowing patients to track blood sugar levels and their diet via the mobile app. Ryse Health has served 220 patients as of April 2022 and claims that all patients experienced a 36% decrease in blood sugar levels after using its program for 60 days.Key customers and partnershipsThe firm operates a B2B2C business model targeting healthcare providers and insurance providers such as Aetna, Humana, Medicare, BlueCross, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn March 2023, the company raised USD 6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Route 66 Ventures. The funds were used to expand its team, for operations, for partnerships, and to expand into new markets.&nbsp;

Ryse Health is a tech-driven chronic care management startup that connects type 2 diabetes patients with a care team consisting of an endocrinologist, a diabetes educator, a health coach, a dietitian, and a behavioral health specialist. The firm delivers care in person at its physical clinics and virtually via an online platform. Its services were available in two states, DC and Baltimore (Maryland), as of April 2022.The online platform includes a glucose monitor and a mobile app that gathers patient vitals, provides self-management tools and allows users to communicate with their care team. Additionally, it supports glucose management by allowing patients to track blood sugar levels and their diet via the mobile app. Ryse Health has served 220 patients as of April 2022 and claims that all patients experienced a 36% decrease in blood sugar levels after using its program for 60 days.Key customers and partnershipsThe firm operates a B2B2C business model targeting healthcare providers and insurance providers such as Aetna, Humana, Medicare, BlueCross, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.Funding and financialsIn March 2023, the company raised USD 6.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Route 66 Ventures. The funds were used to expand its team, for operations, for partnerships, and to expand into new markets.

Cardiomo Care is developing noninvasive wearable devices to alert users and caretakers when there are abnormalities in the heartbeat. The company’s AI engine, trained on existing and growing data sets, can predict potential heart issues up to two hours before they occur, enabling early detection and intervention for arrhythmias and other cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).The company's product, CardiomoPatch, is a waterproof, wearable patch capable of long-term wear with a 10-day battery life. The patch monitors a patient's cardiac data, including ECG outputs, breathing, and skin temperature, and transmits the data via a mobile app for analysis by Cardiomo's AI engine.&nbsp;As of May 2024, the company is yet to commercialize its product and has over 1,600 pre-orders.

Cardiomo Care

Omada is a prevention-focused digital therapeutics startup that helps members achieve health goals through lifestyle changes. It offers four evidence-based, virtual prevention programs for managing hypertension, musculoskeletal (MSK) issues, prediabetes, and diabetes.Omada offers real-time data tracking through connected devices (such as wireless scales, blood pressure, and glucose monitors) and access to personalized coaching sessions via a mobile app as part of its prevention program. It also provides an online community of peers with similar health conditions to discuss challenges and provide support. In May 2021, Omada became the first fully-virtual healthcare provider to earn the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Population Health Program Accreditation for its type 2 diabetes and type 2 diabetes + hypertension programs.Unlike its peers, Omada operates a performance-based business model where it charges clients an enrollment fee based on the number of users and a performance fee based on how much weight their employees lose. In May 2020, the company acquired virtual physical therapy startup Physera.Key customers and partnershipsAs of May 2024, Omada had more than 1 million members from more than 1,900 enterprise clients across all 50 US states. Its B2B employer and health plan client base include key clients such as American Eagle, Kaiser Permanente, Costco Wholesale, 3M, and Marvin. Additionally, the company has partnered with health systems and hospitals such as Intermountain Healthcare to provide its preventive programs as a covered benefit.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15587">January 2023</a>, the company partnered with health service company Castell (a subsidiary of Intermountain Healthcare) to provide its diabetes programs to members from Intermountain Healthcare’s primary care providers in its Utah Medical Group. Further in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25245">January 2024</a>, the company partnered with Amazon to expand access to its cardiometabolic program.

Omada Health

VillageMD provides primary care services for patients. It also provides tools, technology, and staffing support needed for physicians to deliver high-quality services. VillageMD’s service delivery methods include traditional freestanding clinics, Village Medical at Walgreens co-located clinics, as well as at-home and around-the-clock virtual visits. It also leverages a team-based approach to care where physicians lead nurse practitioners, pharmacists, mental health specialists, and dietitians to offer a holistic care program. The technology of VillageMD includes docOS, an operating system that enables better patient care by connecting various clinical source systems with ongoing patient-generated data coupled with an AI engine to continuously analyze messages to enable patient self-care.The company made several acquisitions to expand its footprint: 1) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14347">Summit Health</a> for USD 8.9 billion in November 2022, 2) Healthy Interactions, an interactive patient education platform, in February 2022, and 3) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16968">Starling Physicians</a>, a primary care and specialty care provider, in March 2023.Key customers and partnershipsIn June 2020, VillageMD and Walgreens Boots Alliance announced a collaborative effort to open at least 600 Village Medical centers at Walgreens across more than 30 US markets by 2025. Walgreens invested USD 5.2 billion in VillageMD (from the previously announced USD 1.0 billion), raising its ownership stake to 63% (from 30%).However, as of May 2024, Walgreens had plans to close 160 VillageMD clinics as part of a cost-cutting plan.

VillageMD

Cityblock Health is a value-based healthcare provider focused on delivering comprehensive care to underserved communities, primarily Medicaid and lower-income Medicare beneficiaries. The company combines primary care, behavioral health, and social services to address the complex physical, mental, and social needs of its members.Cityblock's model involves partnering with local community-based organizations and deploying multidisciplinary care teams that include doctors, nurses, behavioral health specialists, and community health workers. These teams provide personalized care through 24/7 access to multi-modal care delivery, including in-home visits, telehealth, and community health hubs.The services of Cityblock are available to members at no additional cost if they are covered by an eligible health plan.Key Customers and PartnershipsAs of May 2024, the company’s services were available in seven states across the US and served over 100,000 members.In May 2024, it partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29647">Sunshine Health</a> to expand to Florida, and, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13270">September 2022</a>, it partnered with MDwise to expand into Indiana. Prior to that, the company had partnered with insurance providers such as ConnectiCare (Connecticut), Tufts Health Plan (Massachusetts), Emblem Health (New York), Healthy Blue (North Carolina), Molina Healthcare (Ohio) and CareFirst (Washington DC).Funding and FinancialsCityblock is a spin-off of Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company that incubates and invests in tech companies and products to improve urban infrastructure. It completed a USD 400 million Series D funding round led by Softbank in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5326">September 2021</a>, valuing the company at USD 5.7 billion. The funds were used to expand its services.

Cityblock Health

Everside Health (formerly Paladina Health) offers preventative care for chronic conditions and primary, mental and occupational healthcare treatments for acute conditions. Patients benefit from around-the-clock access to care, same-day or next-day appointments for in-person, and virtual care visits with zero copays.Everside aims to generate around 17% healthcare cost savings in three years and 31% in five years for its corporate members by leveraging a data-driven approach to care coordination.The company leverages data from past medical records, predictive analytics, and AI in the delivery of preventative care services.Founded in 2010 under the name Paladina Health, the company was rebranded in November 2020 as Everside Health following a merger between three primary care groups (Paladina, Activate Healthcare, and Healthstat). Furthermore, in February 2024, Everside Health merged with primary care provider Marathon Health to form a combined entity that would operate as Marathon Health, and, as of May 2024, the integration was ongoing.Key customers and partnershipPost-merger with Marathon Health, the combined entity would serve 2.5 million patients through over 680 clinics across 41 states.Funding and financialsThe company received its most recent investment in July 2022, amounting to USD 164 million in growth equity funding. The round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The funds were allocated toward growing its market presence and exploring opportunities for M&amp;A as well as to enhance and improve its product features. Additionally, the firm planned to expand its coverage of specialty care services aimed at individuals, employers, and union organizations.

Everside Health

Platforms offer a subscription-based or B2B-sponsored, evidence-based program for managing a specific long-term health condition.

DPCs offer value-based primary and preventive care services addressing whole-person (social, mental, physical) needs for a fixed monthly or annual fee paid by either the patient, insurance provider, or employer.

Companies offer B2B and D2C evidence-based treatments delivered via software programs to prevent and manage a variety of chronic conditions.

Tools that collect and analyze real-time patient data that supports healthcare providers with clinical decisions,  improves patient outcomes, and reduces medical errors.

Companies offer independent physician practices and hospitals with the tools (patient engagement, care coordination, administrative services) to help manage and improve clinical health outcomes of a defined group of individuals or large populations.

Platforms are used to track and gather patient health-related information via either a connected device or at-home test kits to detect the early onset of disease and identify any abnormalities in readings—but do not include a treatment plan.

To gather large amounts of real-time data for chronic care management, DTx, and patient monitoring

XR used by some startups for chronic pain management

Offers digital means of providing direct primary care, passive remote monitoring, chronic care management, etc.

AI/ML is used in predictive analytics, diagnostics tools, and population management

Offers tailored preventive interventions and treatments to the specific needs and characteristics of each individual

Ryse Health

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