If you're interested in partnering with us to improve outcomes, or offering Pomelo as a benefit to your employees or members, we'd love to hear from you.
For candidates interested in joining our team to reinvent maternity and neonatal care, please apply directly to the open roles listed on our Careers page.
If you're interested in partnering with us to improve outcomes, or offering Pomelo as a benefit to your employees or members, we'd love to hear from you.
For candidates interested in joining our team to reinvent maternity and neonatal care, please apply directly to the open roles listed on our Careers page.
I started Pomelo because 1 in 10 babies born in the US today starts their life in a neonatal intensive care unit. Maternal morbidity and mortality rates are higher than our peer countries, and the disparities in outcomes for people of color are unacceptable. The evidence exists for how to identify people at highest risk and which interventions are most effective, but there just isn’t enough capacity in the healthcare system to apply these interventions at scale.
We are addressing these challenges head on by analyzing claims and health record data to identify individual risk factors, and providing virtual pregnancy, postpartum, and infant care to patients across the country to reduce those risks, dramatically increasing access and improving outcomes.
We’re proud of the milestones we’ve achieved over the last year. Since just the beginning of 2024, we’ve grown from 2 million covered lives to over 3 million today and are serving patients in 46 states through our commercial and Medicaid health plan partners. And we’re expanding access to quality care for patients: one-third of our care occurs outside of traditional office hours, when patients have real and often urgent needs, but typically can’t access care outside of a hospital.
Most importantly, we’ve proven the impact of our care on patients. The evidence is clear on what needs to be done to prevent the severe complications of preeclampsia and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) – two of the leading drivers of maternal mortality and morbidity in the US. We know that a low dose aspirin regimen reduces preeclampsia risk by 25%, but fewer than 25% of high risk patients start taking aspirin and that too few patients are screened for PMADs and offered timely treatment.
Last month, we presented new data at the ACOG Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting showing that Pomelo’s telemedicine care dramatically improves both evidence-based aspirin prophylaxis rates (by 2.4x) and mental health screening rates (by 7x) in a Medicaid population.
This fall, we’ll present data at both the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Global Congress and the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition showing reductions in emergency room, inpatient, and NICU utilization as a result of Pomelo’s care.
Like Ava, who had preeclampsia during her first pregnancy and was now pregnant with her second baby, putting her at high risk of developing preeclampsia again. Our provider recommended that she start taking daily low-dose aspirin and spent time sharing the evidence and addressing concerns about taking medication during pregnancy. When Ava’s Pomelo nurse checked in a couple days later to see if she had started her daily aspirin regimen, Ava said she hadn't because she couldn't afford the out-of-pocket cost. Her care team quickly jumped into action to find a bottle of 100 low-dose aspirin for $4 at a local store. Ava started taking low-dose aspirin and stuck with it – significantly reducing her risk of developing preeclampsia. She avoided preeclampsia altogether and delivered at term, with no NICU stay.
We’ve long known what works to address the maternal health crisis. The critical questions have always been: can you identify the patients who are at highest risk, can you deeply engage them in care and drive uptake of the prevention strategies we know work, and can you do it in the highest risk populations with the most limited access to care?
Today, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve raised a $46M Series B led by our existing investors First Round Capital and a16z. Both of them have had a front-row seat to our fast progress since we announced our Series A last June and wanted to double down. I’m also excited that Stripes, who I have known since our partnership at Flatiron Health, joined this round along with participation from existing investors including BoxGroup, Operator Partners, and SV Angel. They join our amazing group of angels, including Adam Boehler, Founder and Managing Partner of Rubicon Founders and former Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), and Founder of Landmark Health and Puneet Singh, CEO of Carebridge.
We’re putting this funding to work to address the root causes of the maternal health crisis, especially for populations most at risk. Our incredible patients deserve more from their healthcare, and our tenacious, humble, and passionate team is committed to fighting for our patients to have the best possible outcomes.
As we enter our next phase of growth at Pomelo, I continue to reflect on the first piece of patient feedback we ever received: “Thanks to you, I finally feel safe.” I’ll never forget it. Now, we have the opportunity to help so many more patients have that feeling that they deserve.
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