Create Health Ventures closes $21M fund
Create Health Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage digital health startups, closed its first fund of $21 million.
The fund will invest specifically in business-to-business software products for payers and pharmaceutical companies, said Create Health Ventures co-founder Emma Cartmell. It has already made investments in care collaboration startup Watershed Health, caregiving platform company Carallel, Medicaid-focused disruptor Pair Team, clinical trial startup Nmible and insurance enrollment tool company Advocatia.
Related: Digital health funding: Flo Health, Spring Health, CoachCare
The venture capital firm's fund will invest in seven more companies' seed or Series A rounds over 18 months, according to Cartmell.
Cartmell, who has previously advised Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth Group, co-founded the venture capital firm with veteran health investor Amit Aysola. Create is backed by several foundations, investors and experienced health industry leaders, Cartmell said, although she declined to disclose any names.
She said the firm's initial backers dropped out after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
"A lot of the initial endowment and pension funds, and strategic [investors] that were going to back us, they just said, 'We're pulling out of venture for the rest of '23 and possibly '24.' And that actually held: They didn't come back to invest in venture," Cartmell said. "So we had to change our fundraising strategy and approached a lot of CEOs who successfully exited digital health companies."
Devoted Health gets $112M more for Series E
Insurtech Devoted Health received another $112 million for its Series E funding round.
The $112 million is in addition to the $175 million it announced in December. Global conglomerate Cox Enterprises and venture capital firms the Space Between and White Road Capital were among the investors in the 2024 round.
Devoted, which is focused on Medicare Advantage, was started by Athenahealth co-founder and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and his brother, Ed Park. The company will use the additional funds to support its growth, according to a news release.
GuideHealth nabs $14M from Memorial Hermann, others
Value-based care startup GuideHealth received $14 million in a seed funding round.
Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System invested in the round alongside entrepreneur Sidd Pagidipati. Other investors were not disclosed.
GuideHealth has developed a platform that connects health systems with artificial intelligence tools in a bid to help those providers engage in risk-based payment models. The company acquired health tech company Arcadia's managed services division in December.
