Roon, the New York-based digital health platform aiming to replace “Dr. Google,” has secured $15 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by FirstMark Capital and Forerunner Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Sequoia Capital and TMV. The investment values the company at $65 million pre-money.
Founded in 2021 by former Pinterest executive Vikram Bhaskaran, Roon is building a comprehensive health information platform that bridges the gap between medical expertise and accessible information. Bhaskaran’s personal struggle to find reliable information about his loved ones’ medical conditions inspired the creation of Roon, leading him to partner with former Pinterest colleague Arun Ranganathan (CTO) and neurosurgeon Rohan Ramakrishna (Chief Medical Officer).
In just 18 months since launch, Roon has already made significant strides in supporting patients through various health journeys, with particular success in women’s health, helping users access reliable information about conditions like PCOS and endometriosis. The platform has also become a valuable resource for families navigating serious illnesses and couples undergoing IVF treatments.
“There’s so much medical misinformation… it’s crazy that patients don’t have anywhere to go to answer questions,” Bhaskaran told TechCrunch in a previous interview. To combat this, Roon has established partnerships with physicians from over 50 prestigious institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, UCSF, Weill Cornell, and Columbia, extending their expertise beyond the clinic walls.
The new funding will enable Roon to significantly expand its platform coverage to hundreds of conditions. The company plans to deepen its commitment to women’s health while also growing its resources for cancer care, neurology, metabolic health, and pediatrics. This comprehensive expansion aims to create a more inclusive and thorough health information ecosystem.
This expansion builds upon Roon’s initial success in providing specialized information about conditions such as glioblastoma, ALS, and dementia. The platform wants to distinguish itself through its commitment to “medically vetted” information and its unique approach to connecting users with others sharing similar health experiences.
The Series A round follows Roon’s $7.5 million seed funding in 2022, which was led by FirstMark, TMV, and Sequoia Capital, with participation from SV Angel, Maveron, and M13.
