UnitedHealthcare has announced the 10 startups that are part of its fourth-annual accelerator program.
The 2022 cohort of startups will participate in the four-month UnitedHealthcare Accelerator program, which began mid-August, where they will receive mentorship from UnitedHealthcare executives and other industry experts, according to the announcement.
The program, which will take on a hybrid approach, includes six weeks of in-person mentorship in Minnetonka, where UnitedHealthcare is based. It is intended to “promote the future of health care” through modernizing the system, the announcement said.
Seven of the 10 companies are led by those who identify as women or a person of color, the announcement said.
“Now in our fourth year, the UnitedHealthcare Accelerator continues to prove itself as a valuable tool helping us solution for some of the most pressing challenges in health care,” Kaylene Thompson, vice president of innovation at UnitedHealthcare, said in the announcement. UnitedHealthcare is a unit of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH).
The accelerator had previously been operated by Boulder, Co.-based Techstars until last year.
Past participants include Minneapolis-based River Health, a subscription-based health services company, which moved from Dallas after being part of the accelerator program. It raised $3.1 million in seed funding last year, according to a Business Journal report.
“We've built an amazing community of startups, mentors and leaders with diverse perspectives and experiences that enable the companies to flourish," Thompson said.
The end of the program will culminate in a showcase event in December.
The 10 companies chosen for the program are, according to UnitedHealthcare:
- Delfina – a San Fransisco-based data platform for pregnancy care that predicts risks and provides support
- Ferrum Health – a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based platform that provides AI-based solutions for early disease detection and intervention
- Live Chair Health – a Columbia, Md.-based company that helps African Americans access health care through barbershops and other community institutions
- Mood Health – a New York City-based digital mental health care provider
- ORX Surgical – a San Antonio, Texas-based procure-to-pay platform allowing direct purchasing of implants for surgeries
- PayGround – a Gilbert, Ariz.-based platform allowing patients and dependents to manage all their bills from different providers in one place
- Pluto Health – a Durham, N.C.-based platform that gives clinicians access to personalized patient health insights
- Tembo Health – a New York-based company giving senior-living residents access to care through telemedicine
- WellTheory – a San Fransisco-based company that provides autoimmune patients with digital nutrition and lifestyle coaching
- YourPath – a St. Paul-based health tech startup that helps people with substance-use disorders access care
