Cerula Care, a virtual-first oncology behavioral health and care navigation company, has raised $3.7 million in an oversubscribed seed round. The funding was led by Esplanade Ventures, with participation from Amplify Capital, BrightEdge, DigiTx Partners, SpringTime Ventures, and Mike Pykosz, former CEO and co-founder of Oak Street Health.
The company, which launched in 2024 and already partners with three large oncology practices, aims to address a significant gap in cancer care. According to Cerula Care, over 85% of the 22 million cancer patients in the US have unmet behavioral health needs, leading to poorer cancer outcomes, excess utilization, and lower survival rates.
“At Esplanade Ventures, we invest in and empower founders that are solving meaningful gaps in healthcare and have a proven ability to execute. Having supported family members in their cancer journey, Cerula Care’s vision and mission resonated with us instantly, and we are incredibly proud to partner with Supriya and Kyle. As a platform purpose-built for cancer patients, Cerula Care and its co-founders are uniquely positioned to become leaders in the cancer behavioral health space and transform the challenging journey for millions of patients,” says Ella Seitz, Esplanade Ventures Managing Partner and Cerula Care board member.
The platform provides personalized behavioral health and care navigation solutions, including counseling, health coaching, and psycho-oncology, working in collaboration with oncology teams. Early results show significant improvements in somatic symptoms, quality of life, anxiety, and depression within three months of care.
“When someone is going through one of the scariest moments of their life – being told they have cancer – they get an oncologist focused on eradicating the cancer. However, the whole journey truly changes someone’s outlook on life, and no one is currently focused on improving the patient’s mental health. Cerula Care exists to help everyone going through the cancer journey have a better quality of life and ensures one coordinated team with their oncologist,” says Supriya Laknidhi, Cerula Care co-founder and CEO.
The new funding will be used to expand services to more practices and invest in patient-facing technology. The seed round follows a pre-seed round with participation from Flare Capital Partners, Healthworx Accelerator, and One Mind.
