Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Finance
January 12, 2022 01:22 PM

Fund launched to invest exclusively in Black-owned health tech ventures

Kara Hartnett
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Marcus Whitney
    Marcus Whitney

    Nashville-based Jumpstart Health Investors has launched a new fund that will invest exclusively in Black-founded health tech ventures.

    The funding round brought together nearly 100 investors — including Eli Lilly and Company, HCA Healthcare, Cardinal Health, Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University, American Hospital Association, Bank of America and Pinnacle Financial Partners — to raise $55 million for the seed-stage fund, dubbed Jumpstart Nova.

    The firm has already made four investments, including a virtual EHR platform for patients with autoimmune diseases, a biotech platform focused on cell therapy innovations, a tech-enabled behavioral health provider for children with autism and a food allergy management startup.

    Marcus Whitney, co-founder of Jumpstart Health Investors, will serve as managing partner alongside Kathryne Cooper, the former co-director of the West Coast Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics.

    The fund has been in the works since August 2020, according to Whitney, and raised $10 million in its first few months. The original financing goal was to raise $30 million to invest in companies focused on health IT, digital health, tech-enabled services, diagnostic devices, biotech, medical devices and consumer health and wellness. With the additional capital, Whitney hopes to invest in more than 20 Black-founded businesses — ranging from $250,000 to $3 million per investment.

    Apart from bringing innovative health tech solutions to the national market, the fund aims to increase the share of Black-owned companies in the U.S. healthcare sector, which currently is less than 5%, according to a press release.

    In 2021, funding for Black startups in the United States quadrupled but remained disproportionate to the country's overall demographic makeup. Nearly $1.8 billion was invested in Black-owned startups in the first half of the year, only 1% of overall venture capital in the U.S. in the same timeframe, according to data collected by Crunchbase.

    Jumpstart's focus is also about populating investment networks with more Black leaders and entrepreneurs, Whitney said. According to the 2020 VC Human Capital Survey by Deloitte, Venture Forward and NCVA, only 4% of all investment professionals are Black.

    James Hildreth, president and CEO of Meharry Medical College, a strategic investor in the fund, said the disparity is representative of the number of practicing Black physicians in the country, and that correcting it will require "bold approaches and ventures."

    "Jumpstart Nova's support of Black-founded comapnies in the healthcare sector is just that kind of innovative thinking," Hildreth said in the release.

    The endeavor began with a letter Whitney sent to Nashville healthcare executives in 2020, and quickly evolved to an oversubscribed fund with a large network of healthcare and financial players, he said.

    "I had an opportunity to create something that could be transactional insofar that it's investing money," he said. "It's not like working on diversifying the board of directors, which could take five or more years. This is something that can be done relatively quickly but it could also be transformational."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    tariffs-healthcare-money-finance-0225
    How health system CFOs are navigating the growing uncertainty
    value based care integrated
    Evernorth, Optum, CenterWell units buoyed insurers in Q1
    Most Popular
    1
    Here are new state healthcare laws taking effect in 2025
    2
    Meet Modern Healthcare's 2025 Leading Women
    3
    New York-Presbyterian layoffs affect 2% of employees
    4
    Evernorth, Optum, CenterWell units buoyed insurers in Q1
    5
    Epic CEO Judy Faulkner on AI, antitrust and consolidation
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Finance Newsletter: Sign up to receive daily news and data that has a direct impact on the business and financing of healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content