In our latest Top of the Ladder feature, we sat down with Ian Koons to discuss his path into healthcare, why cardiology has resisted value-based care for so long, what it means to build infrastructure rather than another app, how Karoo wraps care around patients between appointments, and where he sees the future of cardiovascular care.
Historically, healthcare has not been known for adopting technology quickly. Electronic health records (EHRs) took more than a decade to move from early adopters to near-universal use across U.S. hospitals and office-based physicians. Meanwhile, ambient AI scribes now run in roughly two-thirds of U.S. health systems, the most widely adopted AI application in the sector, with adoption in that category growing 62% in a single year. The contrast signals that when value is obvious and integration is simple, this industry can move at the pace of any other.
Kari O’Rourke is the CEO of Brightline, a digital health company transforming how families access pediatric and youth mental health care. Today, nearly one in five children in the United States has a diagnosable mental health condition, yet for most families the experience of getting a child help hasn’t fundamentally changed. They still face months-long waitlists, fragmented referrals, and confusing costs.
7wire Ventures is excited to welcome Anish Aitharaju as a Principal to our growing team. Anish will focus on investments in early-stage healthcare companies, with an emphasis on digital health and technology-enabled businesses, while working closely with our portfolio companies and strategic limited partners to foster growth and innovation.
Behavioral health has long represented one of the largest gaps between disease burden and care delivery in the U.S. health system. Nearly one in four American adults — 61.5 million people — experienced a mental health condition in 2024, with 21.2 million of that population also meeting criteria for a substance use disorder. Yet nearly half of those with a mental health condition received no treatment, and fewer than one in five of those needing substance use treatment received it.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming approximately 916,000 lives in 2023 and affecting nearly one in two American adults. It is not a single condition but a constellation of disorders, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, arrhythmias, and peripheral artery disease, that together impose a staggering $627 billion annual burden in direct healthcare costs and lost productivity. By 2050, that figure is projected to nearly triple to $1.8 trillion as the population ages and prevalence rises.
Andy Hamilton is CEO and cofounder of When Insurance, an AI-powered workforce transitions platform that helps employers and transitioning employees navigate post-employment health insurance options, reducing overall healthcare costs. A serial entrepreneur and tech veteran, Andy brings deep expertise in scaling B2B marketplaces and a mission-driven focus on transforming the employee offboarding experience. His unique combination of operational excellence from building enterprise SaaS platforms and firsthand understanding of HR pain points positions him to revolutionize how companies manage employee transitions.
7wire Ventures is excited to welcome Eric Shan as an Associate, and Cameron Raglin as a Senior Associate, to our growing Chicago team. Eric and Cameron will be instrumental in driving our investments across digital health and technology-enabled healthcare businesses, and working closely with our portfolio companies to foster growth and innovation.
2025 was a year of recalibration for healthcare. After a period of rapid expansion and capital-driven growth, the market has shifted toward discipline. Employers, payers, and providers have refocused on cost reduction, access, and measurable impact. We have seen digital health adoption continue to grow for solutions that can demonstrate measurable value or cost savings, AI move from promise to practice, and consolidation accelerate as organizations pursue scale and efficiency.
As we enter 2026, the question is now which models can endure and empower consumers with proven approaches. Digital-first access will become the default entry point to care. Evidence, transparency, and accountability will be table stakes. And consumers, facing rising costs, will increasingly shape how we access, navigate, and experience care.
7wire’s 2026 predictions reflect this transition and outline the forces we believe will define the next phase of connected, consumer-driven healthcare.
Ellen Rudolph is the CEO and co-founder of WellTheory, a digital health company that is revolutionizing the way consumers with autoimmune disorders receive care. Today, the more than 50 million Americans who suffer from an autoimmune disorder face an incredibly fragmented experience, leading to many years of misdiagnosis, limited access to specialists, and reactive, symptom-suppressing care. WellTheory seeks to reimagine this process by bringing evidence-based clinical programming, personalized coaching, and AI-powered tools that address root causes and not just the symptoms. Prior to founding WellTheory, Ellen led Product at Oscar Health and at Everlane.