Pomelo Care raises $92 million Series C to expand beyond maternity into multi-stage women's health
Pomelo Care already supports nearly 7% of all U.S births
Pomelo Care, the virtual healthcare company focused on women and children, has raised $92 million in Series C funding at a $1.7 billion valuation, as it looks to expand beyond maternity care and apply its clinical model across more stages of life.
The round was led by Stripes, with participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, PLUS Capital, Atomico, BoxGroup, and SV Angel. The raise marks Pomelo’s largest funding round to date and follows several years of rapid growth in employer- and payer-backed maternity care.
Founded in 2021, Pomelo Care has built a national virtual care model designed to improve maternal outcomes while lowering costs for health plans and employers. The company now supports nearly 7% of all U.S. births and covers more than 25 million lives through partnerships with commercial and Medicaid health plans.
“Pomelo Care was founded to measurably improve maternal health in the United States,” said Marta Bralic Kerns, founder & CEO of Pomelo Care.
“Now, with this funding, we’re taking that proven model beyond maternity to build a system of care that supports women and children throughout their lives, delivering better results across the entire healthcare ecosystem—for patients, payers, providers, and employers alike.”
Scaling maternity care remains a national challenge
Despite decades of investment, U.S. maternal health outcomes continue to lag behind those of other high-income countries, with persistently high rates of preterm birth, preventable NICU admissions, and racial and geographic disparities in care. At the same time, workforce shortages and clinician burnout are contributing to widening “care deserts,” particularly in obstetrics.
Pomelo’s pitch to payers has been that virtual, proactive care—if clinically rigorous and accountable—can help fill these gaps without replacing in-person providers.
“We’ve demonstrated that when care is proactive, evidence-based, and accountable, we improve outcomes and costs come down,” said Marta Bralic Kerns.
A data-backed model with measurable outcomes
Pomelo delivers 24/7 virtual care through multidisciplinary clinical teams that include nurses, therapists, dietitians, doulas, and prescribing providers. Its model combines continuous patient engagement with data science tools designed to identify risks early and guide clinical decision-making.
The company says it has differentiated itself by publishing and presenting claims-based outcomes at national medical conferences. Reported results include a 37% reduction in preterm births, a 46% reduction in emergency room utilization, and a 6.8-day reduction in NICU length of stay—rising to more than 16 days for complex cases. Pomelo also reports a more than sevenfold increase in prenatal depression screening and follow-up rates compared with baseline care.
From a payer perspective, Pomelo says engagement with its programs is associated with a 3–5x return on investment, driven largely by reductions in high-cost events such as NICU stays and emergency visits.
Moving beyond pregnancy - with midlife care an early focus
With this new funding, Pomelo plans to extend its care model beyond pregnancy and postpartum into a broader women’s and children’s health offering. The company says it will continue to grow its maternity footprint while expanding into areas including pediatrics, reproductive and hormonal health, and long-term preventive care.
A key early focus is midlife care. Pomelo recently launched a perimenopause and menopause program addressing hormonal, metabolic, and mental health needs—an area of women’s health that has historically received limited clinical attention. According to company-reported data, patients in the program saw an 88% reduction in symptoms on the Menopause Rating Scale within 60 days, with nearly three-quarters reporting improved productivity.
The expansion reflects a broader industry trend toward lifecycle-based women’s health platforms, as startups and incumbents alike seek to move beyond point solutions tied to pregnancy or fertility.
Technology as clinical infrastructure
At the center of Pomelo’s strategy is its proprietary care platform, which embeds evidence-based pathways and predictive analytics into clinician workflows. The system updates patient risk profiles dynamically and recommends clinical actions in near real time—positioned as a “co-pilot” rather than a replacement for clinicians.
For patients, the platform supports multimodal access—text, phone, video, and app-based communication—designed to reduce friction and encourage earlier engagement.
Investor confidence in national scale
Stripes partner Ron Shah said Pomelo’s ability to reach national scale quickly, across both commercial and Medicaid populations, was a key factor in leading the round.
"We are thrilled to double down on our partnership with Pomelo and are proud to support Marta and the entire Pomelo team on their mission to build a category-leading business in women's and children's healthcare," said Ron Shah, Partner at Stripes.
"Pomelo has reached national scale at an unprecedented rate — now serving 25 million covered lives through Commercial and Medicaid health plan partnerships across the United States. The power of Pomelo's amazing product is clear: exceptional patient satisfaction and strong clinical results showing meaningful reductions in pregnancy-related complications. We believe Pomelo's intelligent care platform will power continued rapid growth and product expansion, meeting rising demand from patients and payers with a modern clinical experience and best-in-class operating metrics."