Perspectives

7wireVentures, an early-stage digital health venture capital firm, and Employer Health Innovation Roundtable (EHIR), a coalition of the largest and most progressive employers, health plans, and health systems are announcing a partnership to accelerate digital health innovation and improve consumer health, wellness, and productivity. The two organizations will facilitate partnerships between emerging digital health companies and EHIR’s blue-chip members.

7wireVentures and EHIR each bring their respective expertise and impressive track records to this collaboration. Lee Shapiro, Managing Partner at 7wireVentures will also rejoin the EHIR Advisory Board.

7wireVentures is a preeminent venture capital firm that invests in early-stage digital health companies that support Informed Connected Health Consumers – the epicenter of a consumer-first, tech-enabled convergence of the health and wellness markets. Fund successes, such as Livongo, are due in large part to the 7wire team’s status as seasoned operators and investors with extensive industry experience. The fund works side-by-side with founders to build companies and is highly involved in taking solutions to market with large employer and health plan organizations.

Founded in 2014, EHIR is an action-oriented, private group built by employers for employers. Led by Michael Laquere, CEO, EHIR has provided a streamlined innovation process and valuable insights to leading corporations. Today, EHIR has over 80 members of the Fortune 500 representing over 10 million employees, along with 25  health plan and health system member companies. EHIR has demonstrated a unique ability to build trusted peer communities for executives to discover, evaluate and leverage the most innovative early-stage healthcare companies in the world.

EHIR will leverage 7wireVentures’ extensive network and digital health domain expertise to fuel the pipeline for future EHIR cohorts, inform evaluation of applicants, and deliver insights for participating employers and health plans on best practices for leveraging digital health solutions. EHIR’s high-profile network of decision-makers and access to new start-ups will further enhance 7wireVentures’ ability to hatch new companies and provide unparalleled access to healthcare buyers to rapidly scale portfolio companies.

“We are thrilled to join forces with 7wireVentures. Through this partnership, we will gain on-the-ground access to digital health companies and fuel the pipeline for future EHIR cohorts. This collaboration will further drive our mission of accelerating innovation for health and wellness.” Michael Laquere, Chief Executive Officer of EHIR.

“We are at an unprecedented time which has led to accelerated adoption of digital health solutions to provide improved care to consumers,” said Lee Shapiro, Managing Partner at 7wireVentures. “We believe this partnership will engage key healthcare decision-makers on innovative digital solutions and how to build new hybrid care models. Through this partnership, we hope to help more people to gain the benefits that distributed, accessible care can provide by leveraging available technologies.”

About 7wireVentures

7wireVentures is a preeminent venture capital firm that invests in early-stage digital health companies supporting an Informed Connected Health Consumer – the epicenter of a consumer-first, tech-enabled convergence of the health and wellness markets. Fund successes, such as founding Livongo, are due in large part because the team are both seasoned operators and investors with extensive industry experience. Being highly selective with investments, the fund works side-by-side with founders to build companies that change the status quo and empower consumers to be better stewards of their health. As company builders, the 7wire team has assumed highly involved roles, in some cases, even pursuing a Hatch strategy to start promising new ventures.

About EHIR

Founded in 2014 by Joshua Riff, MD, and Larry Leisure, EHIR had the sole purpose of helping benefits leaders source and make sense of the crowded space of digital health innovation. By leveraging a peer community and Roundtable innovation format, EHIR quickly became known for its drive to action. In late 2016, Michael Laquere became CEO and embarked on an expansion strategy to drive the mission, growing EHIR to 80 members, adding two health plan cohorts (HPIR), and recently adding health systems to the mix (PHIR). CMO OnDemand was started in 2019 and provides fractional access to leading chief medical officers.