Perspectives
Yaro’s Acquisition: Accelerating Consumer Health Navigation
We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of 7wireVentures portfolio company Yaro by Virgin Pulse. Yaro is a leading provider of benefits navigation and care guidance solutions. The company’s robust platform helps employers and health plans reduce complexities that users face when evaluating and utilizing their health benefits.
Yaro will strengthen Virgin Pulse’s market-leading position as a global provider of enterprise health and wellbeing SaaS solutions through the launch of Virgin Pulse Navigate, a new benefits navigation product. This new offering will enable consumers to interact and track their health benefits and healthcare expenses more confidently, and provides seamless and up-to-date access to benefit summaries, health insurance ID cards, Health Savings Accounts (HSA), deductible balances and claims histories.
Yaro’s technology platform provides Virgin Pulse with a flexible foundation on which the company will continue to build capabilities that make it easier for consumers to understand and access the benefits that are most relevant to them. Virgin Pulse also launched a complementary solution, Virgin Pulse Navigate for Health Plans, which includes AI-powered symptom checking and in-network provider search, making it easy for health plans to direct members to the care they need according to plan and member-specific information.
Why We’re Excited about this Acquisition
When 7wireVentures initially invested in Yaro (formerly known as Zest Health), we were excited about the opportunity to grow a solution centered on improving navigation and affordability for employees and members. Yaro was centrally aligned with our thesis of empowering an Informed Connected Health Consumer, bringing a robust technology platform and premier interface to drive engagement and provide a seamless user experience.
“Given Virgin Pulse’s industry-leading digital health, wellbeing and engagement capabilities and globally installed base, the acquisition of Yaro accelerates our mission to make navigating the fragmented healthcare ecosystem easier and more affordable for every consumer,” said Jaime Moran, CEO of Yaro.
“The acquisition of Yaro accelerates our mission to make navigating the fragmented healthcare ecosystem easier and more affordable for every consumer.” – Jaime Moran, CEO of Yaro
The long-term visions of the two organizations are strategically aligned. Virgin Pulse has committed to addressing the growing frustration that employers and health plans experience as they seek to engage consumers in improving their health and wellbeing.
“Just seven months ago, we announced a bold plan to radically simplify the way our employers, health plans and health care consumers engage with their wellbeing, health and healthcare. With today’s acquisition of Yaro and the launch of Virgin Pulse Navigate, we are one step closer to delivering on the promise of our Homebase for HealthTM strategy,” said David Osborne, CEO of Virgin Pulse. “It has become increasingly difficult for consumers to find the care they need, understand the true costs and know how to pay for it. With Virgin Pulse Navigate, employees and health plan members alike now have an easier way to access the right information, at the right time, to make the best decisions about their health.”
“It has become increasingly difficult for consumers to find the care they need, understand the true costs and know how to pay for it.” – David Osborne, CEO of Virgin Pulse
At 7wireVentures, we believe the Yaro transaction is representative of a broader industry trend of employers and health plans seeking out innovative solutions to simplify and improve the healthcare experience of their employees and members. Demand for such solutions will fuel continued growth and provide strong exit opportunities for digital health platforms that prioritize empowering an Informed Connected Healthcare Consumer. The acquisition of Yaro reinforces this belief and is the beginning of more exciting opportunities to come.