Minneapolis-based Visana Health has closed a $24 million Series A funding round to expand its virtual-first women’s health clinic into weight loss, cardiometabolic care, and chronic condition management. The round was led by Noro-Moseley Partners with participation from Cigna Ventures, Intermountain Ventures, and existing investors Flare Capital Partners and Frist Cressey Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by Joe Connolly, Visana Health has evolved from addressing complex gynecological conditions to providing comprehensive whole-person medical care for women ages 18-65 across all 50 US states.
Personal Experience Driving Healthcare Innovation
Connolly founded Visana Health after witnessing his mother, aunt, and grandmother’s experiences with endometriosis and fibroids. His mother experienced debilitating menstrual pain for years, with vomiting and being bedridden for three to four days monthly. Despite consulting dozens of specialists, she was repeatedly told painful periods were normal and to manage with ibuprofen.
She eventually underwent hysterectomy in her 40s as the first treatment offered, despite having extensive endometriosis and uterine fibroids that could have been managed earlier and more conservatively.
“As you examine these problems across women’s health, it becomes apparent that major gaps exist across a wide spectrum of highly prevalent conditions that significantly impact quality of life,” Connolly explains.
Care Model Evolution
Visana initially focused on complex gynecology but expanded rapidly based on patient demand. Women seeking care for PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, and thyroid conditions revealed significant access gaps across women’s health.
The company later identified a critical need for cardiometabolic care after routinely diagnosing women with severely elevated hemoglobin A1C levels who faced six to 12-month wait times for endocrinology appointments. Visana now employs a full-time endocrinologist and manages insulin resistance, prediabetes, diabetes, and thyroid disorders alongside reproductive and hormonal health.
The platform also functions as a medical home, coordinating preventive screenings including mammograms and cancer screenings.
Virtual-First Care Delivery
Visana operates as a 100% virtual clinic with many W-2 employed providers, enabling longitudinal care relationships. Patients receive 45-minute intake appointments that assess women’s health needs, behavioral health, sexual health, cardiometabolic health, and preventive care gaps. Patients consistently see the same provider, building trusted relationships over time.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Barbara Levy trains clinicians to employ a patient-centered listening approach, allowing patients to share their complete health stories without interruption.
When procedures like mammograms, ultrasounds, or surgeries are necessary, Visana coordinates the entire process. The virtual-first model particularly serves hourly workers, caregivers balancing multiple responsibilities, and professionals who struggle to attend in-person appointments during working hours.
Proven Clinical and Economic Impact
Actuarial analysis demonstrates that Visana reduces medical spend by 34%, cuts unnecessary procedures by 78%, and delivers more than $2,400 in annual savings per enrollee. The average Visana patient manages 3.6 chronic conditions.
“Many women in the workforce are managing multiple chronic conditions without adequate support. By not addressing this comprehensively, employers carry unnecessary costs,” Connolly notes.
The company is now in-network with two national health plans and partners with leading regional plans, representing more than 35 million covered lives. Over 40 employers covering one million lives have adopted the platform. Visana is positioned to serve nearly 50,000 women in 2025.
“Visana has achieved a care model that delivers measurable improvements in patient outcomes while reducing costs,” says Spence McClelland, general partner at Noro-Moseley Partners.
Funding Journey and Strategic Growth
Visana’s funding reflects its evidence-first approach. The company raised a $3.1 million pre-seed round in Q1 2022 (including $400K from friends and family) from Flare Capital Partners, InHealth Ventures, Venture Investors, HealthWorx Ventures, Pixel Perfect, and individual investors. A $10,1 million seed round co-led by Flare Capital Partners and Frist Cressey Ventures followed in 2023.
The company invested its first two and a half years developing its clinical model and generating clinical and economic evidence with health plan partners before pursuing growth capital.
The $24 million Series A will fund clinical model expansion, sales and marketing team growth, and technology infrastructure to support scaling. The company hired its first marketing employees in 2025 and is experiencing strong employer channel growth.
Visana does not currently plan physical clinic locations or point solution acquisitions, prioritizing its integrated care model over additions that could create care fragmentation.
Market Transformation
The women’s health landscape has shifted significantly since Visana’s 2019 founding. Early stakeholder conversations often involved employers and health plans unfamiliar with conditions like endometriosis or PCOS.
“The level of awareness has transformed completely. Stakeholders now understand these conditions and are actively seeking solutions,” Connolly observes.
The evolution extends beyond conditions unique to women to include recognition that diseases like cardiovascular conditions impact women differently, driving fundamental rethinking of research strategies and clinical approaches.
With women’s health now a top-five spend category for employers and nearly 20% of costs driven by concerns that don’t appear in claims data, Visana’s comprehensive approach addresses both immediate care needs and long-term health outcomes while demonstrating that improved clinical results and cost reduction can coexist at scale.
