Our investment in Pomelo Care: setting a new standard for women’s and children’s healthcare
The data on the high cost and poor outcomes of healthcare for women and children, even in the most developed countries in the world, continues to be appalling. While there are many shocking figures, one that stands out in particular that brings to life the sheer scale and severity of this problem is that in the US, 1 out of 10 babies starts their life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Stays in the NICU are expensive, costing on average $6,000 dollars a day. Over $100 billion is spent annually on maternity and NICU in the US, a disproportionate amount of which is spent on preterm births.
The shocking inefficiency is that so much of this spend is preventable, and, if prevented, would also lead to better health outcomes for both women and children. A large proportion of NICU stays are caused by maternal health factors that can be identified, monitored and treated during pregnancy. However, these maternal health factors such as diabetes and pre-eclampsia are too often going undiagnosed and untreated due to access barriers such as a growing number of care deserts with limited or no access to the required healthcare providers, in addition to intensifying provider burnout.
Pomelo Care was founded by Marta Bralic Kerns in 2021 to address this problem and has rapidly become the national leader in the space. Its value-based virtual care model pairs each patient with a personalized care team to address maternal health access and the root causes of poor outcomes. Pomelo uses data to proactively identify risk, provides holistic care leveraging evidence-based protocols and makes 24/7 care accessible via phone, text and video. Partnering with leading health plans and employers, Pomelo Care now covers more than 25 million lives.
Atomico has had the privilege of partnering with multiple digital health leaders including Hinge Health, Wellhub, Nourish and Pelago. We have seen that these companies have propelled themselves into multi-billion dollar category leaders by focusing on several key factors that the Pomelo Care team has proven out in spades:
Clinical Outcomes & Accountability: Pomelo Care has set a new standard in women’s and children’s health for accountability by publishing and presenting peer-reviewed, claims-based outcomes at leading national scientific and medical conferences, demonstrating results at scale, including:
6.8-day reduction in NICU length of stay (16.3 days for complex cases)
37% reduction in preterm births
46% reduction in emergency room utilisation
718% higher prenatal depression screening and follow-up rates
Strong & Quantifiable ROI Case: Engagement with Pomelo is associated with significant reductions in total cost of care for mothers and infants, resulting in a 3-5x ROI for customers. Reductions in preterm births, emergency visits, and NICU stays, three of the most expensive drivers of medical spend, demonstrate Pomelo’s ability to deliver durable savings at scale.
Best-in-Class Product & Technology: The foundation of Pomelo’s model is its intelligent care platform, which embeds evidence-based care pathways and predictive analytics directly into clinician workflows to surface risks early and update them dynamically as care journeys unfold. This technology enables Pomelo to provide truly proactive care: identifying emerging issues before they escalate and ensuring patients receive timely, personalized care. The platform serves as a clinician co-pilot, providing patient insights, evidence-based playbooks, and recommended clinical actions within minutes, not days. For patients, the platform powers a seamless, supportive experience with 24/7 multimodal (phone, text, call, video, app) access to their multispecialty team of licensed clinicians, including nurses, dietitians, therapists, doulas, and providers who can diagnose, treat, and manage their care.
Solving a problem this vast, complex, and with so many stakeholders requires a deeply mission-driven and focused founder & team. Previously, Pomelo’s founder Marta was a key member of the Flatiron Health executive leadership team which was acquired by Roche for $1.9 billion. She is widely known as an exceptional commercial leader in healthcare, and much of the Pomelo Care leadership team today are former colleagues of Marta’s from Flatiron. The scale and leadership position that Pomelo Care has already reached since its founding in 2021 is a testament to the drive, tenacity and mission-alignment of this team.
The scale that Pomelo Care has already reached is a testament to the team’s focus on clinical outcomes, a proven ROI case that benefits all stakeholders, and a best-in-class product & technology. Atomico has had the privilege of partnering with multiple category-leading digital health companies such as Hinge Health, Nourish, Wellhub and Pelago, and we are honoured to be working with the Pomelo Care team as they transform what remains one of the biggest and shockingly underserved categories in healthcare: women and children
Atomico is delighted to be a significant investor in Pomelo Care’s $92m Series C round at a $1.7 billion valuation as it expands its proven model beyond maternity and sets a new standard for women’s and children’s healthcare.
With this funding, Pomelo will continue to rapidly expand its proven maternity care model through partnerships with health plans and employers nationwide. The company will also apply the same critical rigor, accountability, and accessibility to transform women's and children’s health across more categories: from reproductive care, pregnancy, pediatrics, and hormonal health through perimenopause and menopause, to long-term preventive care and condition management.
