Health IT, Patient Engagement

7wire Ventures is raising a $100M+ fund investing in consumer-oriented digital health

In a phone interview, 7wire Ventures managing partner Lee Shapiro confirmed the fund had raised the first of several tranches for the $100 million fund.

Money Growth

7wire Ventures, a Chicago-based early stage healthcare venture fund, has raised $24 million, according to a Form D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But in a phone interview with MedCity News, 7wire Ventures Managing Partner Lee Shapiro explained that this is just the first of several tranches with a total fundraising goal of $100 million or more. The fund will make investments in consumer-oriented digital health companies.

When I reached Shapiro on Friday afternoon, he joked that he was still wringing out his clothes from the deluge of rain during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week.

7Wire Venture Fund L.P. targets companies in five digital health segments with the goal of creating a “connected health consumer”: consumer engagement around health innovation, connected care — such as personalized remote monitoring, data analytics, personalized consumer markets to help individuals make better health choices, and population health.

7wire Ventures also includes Managing Partner Glen Tullman, who is also the CEO of Livongo. He and Shapiro worked together at Allscripts where Tullman was the CEO and Shapiro was president.

Since 2013, 7wire has invested in eight healthcare companies from medication adherence business Medisafe to Ayogo — a patient engagement company that focuses on chronic condition management through gaming. Ayogo’s customers include pharma companies and health plans.

Limited partners with the fund include family offices and high net worth individuals, many of whom were shareholders in companies that Allscripts acquired or invested in when Tullman and Shapiro were with Allscripts.

Investments in startups will vary from $300,000 to $3 million. The fund will commit to follow-on investments of $5 million to $10 million per company, said Shapiro.

Asked what aspects of digital health spark the firm’s interest but where it has not yet invested, Shapiro noted behavioral health and research around the microbiome.

“We have seen some really great companies that are democratizing genomics testing like 23andme and bringing genetic testing to the masses. “We’re interested in bringing services around those companies so the information is actionable,” Shapiro said.

Photo: Topp_Yimgrimm, Getty Images 

 

 

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