Create Health Ventures, which will focus on investing in payer- and pharma-facing early-stage digital health companies with founders with experience in the healthcare industry, announced its launch after closing its first fund of $21 million. 

The VC firm will invest in startups offering B2B platforms focused on payers and pharmaceutical companies that aim to improve patient engagement and the patient care journey, including clinical trial recruitment and retention. 

"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," Emma Cartmell, cofounder and managing partner of Create Health Ventures, said in a statement.

"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 LARGER TREND

Other venture firms that have emerged in the past year focused on funding digital health companies include Amboy Street Ventures, which launched in 2023 after closing a $20 million fund to invest in women's health and sexual wellness. 

Earlier this year, health tech investor and Transcarent CEO Glen Tullman launched a new $100 million venture fund called 62 Ventures. The new fund will invest in startups outside his existing fund 7wireVentures' strict digital health focus. 

62 Ventures will focus on education, health and care environmental sustainability, as well as other industries.

Last year, Tullman's 7wireVentures launched its largest fund to date, closing a $217 million fund, bringing its assets under management to $500 million. 

The firm said one-third of the funding would go toward Series B and Series C funding that were not already a part of the VC firm's portfolio.