Kivo Health has closed an oversubscribed $10M Series A led by Allumia Ventures, with Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures joining. The Seattle company has now raised more than $16M.
The money goes toward national expansion of a virtual pulmonary rehabilitation program aimed at seniors with moderate to severe COPD, the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.
Why almost nobody gets rehab
Pulmonary rehabilitation is guideline-recommended and well evidenced. A Medicare study found just 2.7% of patients hospitalized for COPD received it within a year of discharge. Clinic capacity, frailty, limited mobility and travel distance all get in the way. Kivo replaces the outpatient gym with a supervised program delivered at home, pairing clinicians with an AI platform that engages patients between visits and flags those who need attention earlier.
The company cites a peer-reviewed study of its own program and an independent actuarial analysis projecting $8,245 in annual savings per member from fewer hospitalizations, emergency visits and nursing home days. Investors point to evidence of 56% fewer hospitalizations with rehab generally.
The cost argument
Direct medical costs tied to COPD in the US are projected to approach $60.5B by 2029. Kivo says its programs are covered by most major plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Blue Cross, Aetna, Priority Health, Medicare and Medicaid.
Founder and CEO Victor Sadauskas, MD, argues that up to thirty million Americans have COPD and that the system typically shows up only once they are hospitalized. The company intends to extend the model to other high-cost chronic conditions.
