Pomelo Care, a virtual healthcare startup, is expanding its services beyond maternal care to support women at all stages of life. The company recently raised $92 million at a $1.7 billion valuation.
Founder and CEO Marta Bralic Kerns started the company after her own pregnancy exposed gaps in maternal care. Despite having good doctors and insurance, she found care inconsistent and impersonal. “That was such a stark disconnect to everything I was working in healthcare,” she said.
Pomelo Care uses data and virtual care to identify patients at risk of pregnancy complications and provide evidence-based treatment. The startup covers 25 million lives and supports nearly 7% of all U.S. births, working with major insurers like UnitedHealthcare and Elevance, as well as large employers.
The platform has shown strong results: 15% lower Medicaid costs, 46% fewer ER visits, and 58% fewer NICU admissions. Small interventions, such as prescribing low-dose aspirin to high-risk patients, can prevent serious complications.
Bralic Kerns plans to extend the same model to perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, identifying preventive care needs such as hormone-replacement therapy. “Whether raising kids or starting aging, women are not getting preventive care. It’s very clear it’s a large opportunity,” she said.
Before Pomelo Care, Bralic Kerns worked at Flatiron Health and consulted on maternal care for Arkansas Medicaid, giving her experience using data to improve healthcare outcomes. She left Flatiron in 2021 to launch Pomelo.
Investors are optimistic. The $92 million round was led by Stripes, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Box Group, and others. The funding will support expansion and development of Pomelo’s virtual care technology.
Bralic Kerns believes small, evidence-based interventions can make a big difference in women’s health. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” she said, highlighting how data-driven care can improve outcomes while reducing costs.
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