Fund dedicated to investing in women- and BIPOC-led companies seeks to make investment landscape more equitable and address inequities in healthcare
Seae Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm dedicated to advancing equity by investing in women and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural fund of $107M. Seae is the largest fund dedicated to investing in women- and BIPOC-led companies focused on developing technologies that address financial wellness, mental health, women’s health and personalized medicine that benefit traditionally underserved and vulnerable populations.
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“It is a well-known fact that women and BIPOC entrepreneurs have not had equal access to capital,” said Jason Robart, Seae Ventures co-founder and managing partner. “Closing gender and racial equity gaps starts with investing in historically overlooked entrepreneurs. We are confident our efforts will motivate other venture firms to recognize this unseen value and amplify our portfolio’s collective mission through investment and support.”
Seae is on its way to changing the landscape for entrepreneurs, patients, and the overall U.S. healthcare system, having already funded 17 startups addressing the country’s most pressing healthcare disparities including:
- Health in Her HUE, a platform designed to help Black women and women of color easily access culturally sensitive healthcare providers, health content, and community
- Hurdle, an innovative digital mental health platform company aiming to remove barriers to mental health care for People of Color
- MD Ally, a company that triages 911 calls and reroutes non-emergency calls to telehealth medical services
- Moving Analytics, a telehealth company providing virtual cardiac rehab solutions
- Tia, a company building the “modern medical home for women” across virtual and in-person care
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Cofounded in 2019 by healthcare veterans Tuoyo Louis, Jason Robart and Pete Sally, Seae is driven by a mission born from their personal experiences and frustration with the widening health disparities across the country. After successfully leading Zaffre Investments, the corporate venture arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Seae team engaged its broad network of progressive corporate and financial investors to support the new fund. Having firsthand knowledge of the impact that insurers can have on realizing the fund’s mission, the team naturally targeted health plans as initial strategic investors.
Seae has garnered support from a broad coalition of more than 30 investors who are dedicated to increasing the prevalence of venture firms with diverse leadership. The coalition includes the American Hospital Association, Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Cambridge Associates, Eli Lilly and Company, Goldman Sachs and Health Care Service Corporation.
Suzanne Gauron, Global Head of Launch With GS, noted, “Goldman Sachs is excited to invest in Seae and support their investment in underrepresented founders who are dedicated to building innovative solutions in healthcare. We believe Seae’s mission closely aligns with the Launch With GS thesis and we look forward to partnering with the team to drive capital to diverse teams dedicated to improving access to high-quality healthcare.”
While the initial fund is closed, Seae will continue to build their firm while enhancing equitable access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs building growth stage companies in future funds.
“Seae Ventures’ mission to drive capital toward diverse founders is not just reflective of our shared goals and values, it is also aligned with our investment thesis, which is to affect supply and demand dynamics,” said Jasmine Richards, managing director at Cambridge Associates.
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