Funding this week led by GV, Froedtert's VC and John Legend

GV, General Catalyst and Froedtert's VC back startup 

Layer Health, an artificial intelligence-enabled clinical notes company, launched with a $4 million seed round Wednesday.

Google Ventures (GV), General Catalyst and the venture capital arm of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin invested in the startup.

Layer is focused on taking unstructured healthcare data and using it for clinical, administrative or research tasks. The company said its product uses AI to analyze data stored in clinical notes.

The seed round will be used to expand Layer's machine learning staff and build its product.

The investment from General Catalyst is far more modest than its $50 million investment in generative AI company Hippocratic AI earlier this year. Still, it underscores the firm’s continued interest in AI. 

Read more: SamsungNext, Menlo Ventures invest in behavioral health company

Forward nabs $100M to build AI-connected health pods

Forward, a tech-enabled, subscription-based care company, raised $100 million in funding to manufacture and deploy self-service healthcare pods. The pods will be placed in malls, office buildings and gyms. Read more.

Claims-focused CoverSelf closes $8.2M seed round

CoverSelf, a healthcare claims and payments software company, closed an $8.2 million seed funding round.

The company sells software that aims to increase transparency between payers and providers. It says its technology also can assist payers in resolving health claims. 

Venture capital firms BEENEXT and 3one4 Capital led the round. The company said it plans to use the capital to grow its operations, invest in technology and hire additional employees focused on sales and marketing. 

Andreessen Horowitz, John Legend invest in Medicaid navigation startup

Fortuna Health, a Medicaid navigation startup, received a $4 million seed funding round.  

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led the round. Grammy winning artist and producer John Legend joined the round, along with digital health founders from online pharmacy PillPack, primary care-focused Cityblock Health and pediatric-focused telehealth company Summer Health. BoxGroup and Y Combinator also participated in the round. 

Fortuna said its funding will help the company form partnerships with managed care organizations in new states. The company is operational in Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. 

Fortuna is the latest benefits navigation companies to receive backing from prominent investors. Virgin Pulse, a digital health navigation company for employers, said its merger with third-party health plan administrator HealthComp closed earlier this month.

Digital health and wellness app focused on alcohol use closes Series A

Sunnyside, a digital health and wellness app focused on alcohol use, secured a $11.5 million Series A funding round.

Sunnyside offers a virtual membership community, peer coaching and support for those aiming to drink less. The program helps users navigate alcohol by establishing what it calls “mindful drinking." 

Financial services and investment company Motley Fool Ventures led the round with participation from venture capital firm Will Ventures. The round brings the company’s total raised to date to $14.6 million.