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UnityAI, a startup aimed at helping hospitals better manage bedside operations, raised a $4 million seed, CEO Edmund Jackson tells Axios' Claire Rychlewski exclusively.

Why it matters: Hospitals are struggling to discharge recovering patients to new settings, reducing overall health system capacity.

What's happening: Max Ventures led the round, alongside a co-investment from existing (and largest) backer Whistler Capital.

Nashville Capital Network and Company Ventures also participated.

Funds are designed to last 12–18 months as the Nashville-based company grows its R&D team, Jackson says.

How it works: Developed by Jackson, Cody Hall and Jason Parker — all former data scientists at HCA Healthcare — UnityAI uses machine learning and large-language model to streamline daily hospital workflows.

The patient discharge process, for example, involves moving pieces like post-acute placement, durable medical equipment needs and medication management instruction.

Using UnityAI's platform, providers can identify specific patient needs and coordinate with other team members quickly to discharge, says Jackson.

What's next: The company is evaluating product market fit with a few large hospital networks in Nashville, Jackson says.

"We expect to be in tens to dozens of hospitals by the end of the year," he adds.

What they're saying: Max Ventures has seen a lot of decks for new health care AI companies, says partner Ryan Darnell. The UnityAI founders' backgrounds helped it stand out.

"From his time at HCA, his time in health care, [Jackson] knows exactly what the problem is. He knows exactly how these hospitals operate," Darnell says.

Between the lines: Bed management operations can differ significantly depending on the size and location of a health system, which could make customization and implementation more challenging for UnityAI.

Yes, but: Jackson says that's part of the problem.

"We believe that there are some standard things that should be implemented in a similar way across hospitals," Jackson says.

"So we're building a portfolio of playbooks ... which can then be adjusted" using generative AI, he adds.

State of play: Startups deploying AI to streamline and automate hospital operations have attracted investor dollars in recent months.

Last November, General Catalyst merged portfolio companies Commure and Athelas with a $70 million investment, purporting to create an AI-powered, integrated hospital operating system.

In January, Artisight raised a $42 million Series B from Nvidia and other undisclosed investors for a smart hospital platform, pairing IoT sensors and machine learning.

Last October, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz teamed up to back Hippocratic AI, which offers providers AI-patient simulation models to boost medical learning. (Though the company has kept mum on specific applications to date.)

1 big thing: Former HCA execs land $4M for AI startup

Illustration of a woman in a hospital gown made from a one hundred dollar bill sitting on an examination bed.

9am Health, a virtual provider for cardio-metabolic health, raised a $9.5 million Series A extension, Aaron writes.

Why it's the BFD: By 2030, nearly half of all Americans are projected to live with obesity or pre-diabetes.

Details: The round was led by The Cigna Group Ventures — an opportunistic get for the company, co-CEOs Anton Kittelberger and Frank Westermann tell Axios.

9am Health elected to pursue an extension raise now, rather than wait for a Series B, they say.

Existing investors 7wire Ventures, Define Ventures, Leaps by Bayer and Founders Fund also participated.

How it works: The San Diego-based startup offers both B2B and DTC cardio-metabolic care, providing personalized care plans, prescription delivery, at-home lab tests and access to specialists.

9am serves employers, PBMs, health systems and health plans to help deliver holistic treatment for diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension.

The company is also partnered with Eli Lilly's telehealth offering LillyDirect, providing specialized care starting at $69 per month, with or without insurance coverage.

What's next: Fresh funds will help the company expand its internal team of care specialists and doctors.

Kittelberger and Westermann declined to comment on runway, profitability and financials, but they confirmed the company is generating revenue.

The big picture: The rise of interest in GLP-1s is a watershed moment, inspiring patients and physicians to manage diabetes and weight health better.

Yes, but: Those drugs are expensive and in short supply.

"The hefty price tag raises the stakes, demanding solutions for employers balancing cost constraints amid soaring expectations of their workforce," says Westermann.

Catch up quick: 9am Health raised its $16 million Series A in 2022.

State of play: Virtual diabetes management emerged as a major proof point for telehealth during COVID and startups continue to draw VC funds.

Metabolic care startup Twin Health received $50M in Series D funding last December.

Diabetes care provider Ryse Health drew $6.5 million in Series A funds last March.

Metabolic monitoring startup Levels, which offers biofeedback on how food impacts health, raised its $7 million Series A extension in January 2023.

⏰ 1 fun thing: The name 9amHealth reflects the idea that despite bad days of living with a chronic condition, each new day offers a chance for a new beginning.

2. The BFD: 9amHealth $9.5M Series A extension

Illustration of a phone wearing a doctor's coat and a stethoscope. 

Online medical training company Stepful collected $12 million in Series A funding.

Why it matters: Shortages of health care workers have continued to plague a health care system already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin writes.

Details: AlleyCorp Impact, the firm's social impact arm, led the round.

SemperVirens, Reach Capital, Y Combinator, Company Ventures, Green Sands Equity and 01 Advisors participated.

What's next: Funds will allow Stepful to expand its program offerings and ink new health care system partnerships.

CEO Carl Madi foresees Stepful collecting a Series B sometime in the next two years.

How it works: New York City-based Stepful offers programs targeted at people in underserved communities using a mobile-first approach that includes short videos, group projects, simulations and community learning modules.

Stepful has graduated 3,000+ students to date, per Madi, leading graduates to positions where they see an average 25% increase in income.

Its programs span training for medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, surgical technologists and licensed practical nurses.

The company also partners with health systems to help them fill open roles.

Flashback: Stepful last May raised a $7.5 million seed round, and Madi at the time predicted the company would collect a Series A in 2024.

Of note: Together with the funding, CommonSpirit SVP of talent acquisition Wanda Cole-Frieman and AlleyCorp Impact managing partner Tanya Beja join Stepful's board of directors. SemperVirens general partner Allison Baum Gates joins as board observer.

What they're saying: "Stepful fits our investment criteria like a glove," AlleyCorp's Beja tells Axios. "It's affordable and it meets people where they are."

State of play: Ongoing shortfalls of health care workers have kept venture investors' attention laser-focused on several companies looking to fill the gaps, including:

Iris Telehealth, a telepsychiatry staffing company that matches providers with clinics, in 2022 collected $40 million in Series B capital.

Health care career marketplace Incredible Health in 2022 pulled in $80 million in Series B funding at a $1.65 billion valuation.

Tech-enabled health care staffing company ShiftKey last January raised $300 million at a $2 billion valuation.

3. Virtual medical training startup Stepful nets $12M

Illustration of a medical red cross under spotlights on a stage.

Want more health tech deals? Check out the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Reprieve Cardiovascular, a Milford, Mass.-based med device company, raised $42m in Series A funding led by Lightstone Ventures and Sante Ventures. reprievecardio.com

• Oula, a maternity care company, raised a $28 million Series B co-led by Revolution Ventures and Maverick Ventures. axios.link/49HBc70

• Techstars portfolio company AZmed, a Paris-based AI-powered radiology software company, raised €15 million in Series A funding, led by Maison Worms. axios.link/3UNL2QS

• Avatar Medical, a Paris- and Mountain View, Calif.-based medical imaging company, raised $5.4m in funding led by GO Capital. avatarmedical.ai

• Nest Collaborative, a virtual lactation support company, raised $6m in a round led by Altitude Ventures. axios.link/49GOL6N 

3. Deals o' the day

Anthony Philippakis, co-founder of Verve Therapeutics, joined GV as a general partner. axios.link/3T1JNfq

Arielle Mortimer, former COO at Heyday, joined Spring Health as COO. springhealth.com

Roshal Marshall joined Verily as chief counsel and head of data strategy. verily.com

James Lang joined Workflow Services as CIO. Also joining Workflow are Gretchen Hustad, VP of customer success, and Allison Fonseca, strategic account executive. workflowservices.com

4. It's Personnel

🧑‍⚖️ Alabama's top court rules IVF embryos are children — Axios

🏛️ Congress tiptoes toward health care AI legislation — Modern Healthcare

👩‍⚕️ Nearly half of health care workers have witnessed racism, discrimination — USA Today

🤰 Prescriptions for postpartum depression pill off to "promising" start — Axios

5. Your daily dose

Illustration of a pill capsule as the bell hammer on an alarm clock.

🇺🇸 Welcome back and hope you had a nice holiday weekend, Health Tech readers! 

🤑 Situational awareness: Advent, Blackstone, KKR and others are reportedly circling Sanofi's $20 billion consumer health division, which the pharma giant is in the process of spinning off.  

☔ After a sweltering week in Costa Rica, Erin returned to Tahoe fully expecting summer conditions ripe for a dip in the lake, but instead discovered sleet and hail.

💕 Thanks for reading, and extra thanks to newsletter editor Claire Rychlewski and copy editor Egan Millard. Please ask your colleagues, friends and family to sign up.

February 20, 2024

1 big thing: Former HCA execs land $4M for AI startup