Create Health Ventures Launches with Inaugural Fund for Early-Stage Digital Health Companies
AUSTIN, Texas – Create Health Ventures, a venture capital firm exclusively focused on early-stage digital health startups with founders from the healthcare industry, announced today the close of its first fund of $21 million and its mission to invest in innovations that improve access to care for everyone, enhance the patient experience and facilitate better patient health outcomes. The firm invests in business-to-business (B2B) solutions that both payers and pharmaceutical companies can leverage to meet business goals ranging from enhanced patient engagement and a more effective care journey to recruitment and retention in clinical trials as the need for participants accelerates.
“Many investors pitch themselves as value-add partners. No one lives this commitment like the Create Health Ventures team. They are insightful, collaborative and active in helping us grow and improve our business. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner”
“We’ve heard firsthand from payers, providers and pharmaceutical companies that their business goals are to elevate the patient experience, facilitate better health outcomes and improve access to care for all, especially those with health disparities,” said Emma Cartmell, co-founder and managing partner of Create Health Ventures. “We know that founders from the healthcare industry intimately understand how to meet these challenges leveraging technology, and supporting them is the most powerful way that we can invest and, in turn, positively impact the healthcare industry.”
The firm is comprised of two founder-managing partners with over 45-years experience in healthcare operations and investing, Cartmell and Amit Aysola, who together have invested in or advised more than 80 high-growth companies. Austin-based Cartmell has 25 years experience in healthcare as a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, board member and VC investor, as well as an advisor to Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealthcare, the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and the British Government. Chicago-based Aysola has more than 20 years experience in healthcare as a management consultant, operator, investment banker and VC investor, and is an advisor to the Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine at Northwestern University. Together they bring their expertise, regulatory know-how and operational knowledge to their portfolio companies, as well as deep industry relationships, including limited partners (LPs) with successful exits who mentor their firm’s founders and CEOs.
Focus on Payer-Facing Technologies and Clinical-Trial Enablement
The seven largest public payers are sitting on record post-Covid profitability totaling $49.1 billion at the end of 2023, and McKinsey & Company expects continued growth to expand to up to $75 billion by 2027. A key focus of Create Health Ventures is investing in payer-facing technologies, as payers are subsidizing or paying for provider-facing technologies to successfully execute on value-based models and improve member experiences.
“Health plan members have an insurance card in their wallet without an accompanying digital experience like they do in most other facets of their lives. Payers want to fix that by digitizing the member experience so that they can identify members in need and better help them navigate their healthcare,” said Aysola. “Yet, the biggest challenge in healthcare is still lack of data and workflow connectivity among stakeholders. By backing technologies that sell to a health plan, our firm is enabling more seamless data and workflow aggregation that will change the game for payers, providers and patients. Additionally, payers are able to more effectively scale these technology solutions across geographies, reaching a larger pool of stakeholders.”
In tandem, Create Health Ventures is investing in technologies that strengthen pharmaceutical companies’ ability to recruit and retain patients in clinical trials, as the industry is ramping up later-stage clinical trials and manufacturing. Notably, the number of drugs currently in phase three clinical trials (18 percent) has surpassed pre-Covid levels (15 percent). Currently, the pharmaceutical industry has a multitude of point solutions but, as with the payer landscape, there is a lack of data and workflow connectivity.
“There is a massive need for innovation in the pharmaceutical field around clinical trials, as the number of late-stage trials are increasing at a fast clip,” added Aysola. “More robust and holistic technology solutions that enable the recruitment and retention of trial participants are what’s needed to keep up with this rising demand.”
Bringing Experience to Bear with Platform Fueling Growth
Create Health Ventures has made five investments to date and leverages a LP base of foundations, impact investors and strategic industry partners. Many LPs are health industry veterans who have founded and exited companies, creating a network that actively mentors and assists the firms’ portfolio companies.
The firm offers a unique value-added services platform to support its portfolio companies and leadership, provided at no cost, that addresses the challenges of building and scaling. This includes strategic partnerships that support recruiting, access to executive performance coaches, business development support and connections to healthcare industry veterans, among other benefits. As their firm’s portfolio companies have a very targeted buyers’ universe, Create Health Ventures also creates opportunities for cross-selling and support among its portfolio companies.
Additional Quotes on Create Health Ventures
“As a practicing physician passionate about solving the massive problem of uncoordinated healthcare with technology, I recognized early on the challenges of being a startup founder, like navigating the investor landscape and the importance of selecting partners with the expertise to support these efforts,” said Dr. Chip Grant, an interventional cardiologist and founder and CEO of Watershed Health. “It has been invaluable to partner with a firm of experts who have helped me build out my team operationally, scale my company quickly and grow our customer base of health plans and fundraise our latest round.”
“Many investors pitch themselves as value-add partners. No one lives this commitment like the Create Health Ventures team. They are insightful, collaborative and active in helping us grow and improve our business. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner,” said Shara Cohen, President and CEO of Carallel.
“Create Health Ventures has brought their expertise to every step of our journey after fundraising including go-to-market strategy and operations,” said Neil Batlivala, co-founder and CEO of Pair Team. “As we continue to scale our customer base and reach more underserved communities with high-quality care, our investor team is helping us to manage our growth and make valuable connections along the way.”
“As a purpose-driven marketing agency, it’s important that we partner with organizations who share our values. Create Health Ventures is working toward solutions that promise to create a healthier world and a meaningful return for our stakeholders. Together, our efforts extend beyond business outcomes to align incentives in ways that positively impact people’s lives by connecting them with the care they need. This is the kind of collective win that we’re seeking as an agency,” said Scott Ensign, Chief Strategy Officer of Butler/Till.
About Create Health Ventures
Create Health Ventures is a venture capital firm exclusively focused on early-stage digital health startups with founders from the healthcare industry. The expertise of the firm’s founders in the healthcare ecosystem powers their focus on investing in innovations that improve access to care for everyone, enhance the patient experience and facilitate better patient health outcomes. The firm was launched in 2024 and is based in Austin, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois. Visit www.createhealth.vc.
