Exclusive: Kivo Health nabs $10M for lung disease
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Kivo Health, a telehealth provider focused on lung diseases, raised a $10 million Series A led by Allumia Ventures, CEO Victor Sadauskas tells Axios Pro exclusively.
The big picture: The push to manage chronic respiratory conditions outside hospitals is fueling deal activity.
Follow the money: Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures joined, bringing its total funds raised to just over $16 million.
- Kivo has two years of runway after the raise, but it could be in market as early as next year.
How it works: Seattle-based Kivo focuses on seniors with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Patients receive a kit with a cellular-connected tablet, exercise bands and pulse oximeter. Most see clinicians every two weeks for the first two months.
- After that, patients can shift to monthly visits for at least eight months, with care continuing as needed and subject to contract terms.
Zoom in: Most of Kivo's clinicians are directly employed respiratory therapists or exercise physiologists. The pulmonologists overseeing the programs work as both employees or contractors.
- Most of Kivo's business comes through health system partnerships and are billed fee-for-service, though it's scaling its value-based arrangements for Medicare Advantage patients.
State of play: Investors and strategic buyers continue to back digital respiratory care, with recent funding rounds and acquisitions signaling interest in the sector.
- Wellinks, another respiratory care health tech, closed a $10 million Series B round to fund commercial growth in August.
- Sword acquired Kaia Health, a digital health company with a partial focus on pulmonary care, for $285 million in January.
- ResMed acquired VirtuOx, a provider of at-home diagnostic testing for sleep, respiratory and cardiac conditions, in May 2025.
