Minority Health Focused Startup Mae Closes Oversubscribed Seed Funding Round to Reduce Maternal Health Disparities
2024年5月7日 - 9:30PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
Mae Health Inc, announces the close of a seed raise, led by
Jumpstart Nova, to scale its tech-enabled services offering to
drive improvements in Black maternal health outcomes. Mae’s round
also included participation from new investors including the Astia
Fund, Impact Engine, Joyance Partners, and Gratitude Railroad, and
early investors RH Capital, Avestria Ventures, Bright Ventures, and
the Social Starts Health & Happiness Fund.
Black Americans face a maternal mortality rate more than two
and half times higher than other demographic groups. The U.S.
has also seen an alarming increase in maternity care deserts, with
an estimated 16% of Black babies born in areas with limited or no
access to maternity care services. Mae’s oversubscribed seed raise,
enabling the company to scale while combating these disparities,
comes at a critical time as the country continues to face rising
maternal and infant mortality rates.
Mae combines a digital engagement and risk-tracking platform
with community-based doula support to better align provider support
teams and center the pregnant person throughout the perinatal
journey, all with the goal of reducing disparate maternal health
outcomes, including preterm births and non-medically necessary
C-sections.
Mae is already making an impact:
- Supporting beneficiaries in six states across many of the
largest Medicaid insurance plans
- Achieving a 30% reduction in C-section rates and a 30%
reduction in preterm birth rates (compared to the National averages
for Black women)
- Forging meaningful partnerships to support capacity building
and sustainability for birth workers of color
“Since our founding, our goal at Mae has been to create more
seamless pathways for established, impactful clinical interventions
to reach more birthing people of color, and we’re thrilled by the
progress we’ve made in our earliest years. We are grateful for the
partnership of Jumpstart Nova and our growing community of
investors in believing deeply in this mission, and working
collaboratively with us to drive towards improvements in maternal
health equity,” says Mae’s founder and CEO, Maya Hardigan.
Notably, Mae has prioritized Medicaid partnerships, as Medicaid
covers nearly half of all births and upwards of 65% of Black births
nationally. Mae partners with states and Managed Care Organizations
to deploy innovative maternal health initiatives and newly
established regulatory changes, including providing support and
coverage through 12 months postpartum and promoting fully covered
doula benefits to individuals covered under Medicaid.
“Venture capital has an outsized influence on
which healthcare ideas and problems are perceived as worth funding
and will make money. Saving Black mothers is worth funding and
investing in Mae will generate significant returns. Despite over
$50 billion USD invested in the U.S. pregnancy care market, total
morbidity costs for all U.S. births are estimated to be $32 billion
USD and many of these costs are avoidable. We are failing our
mothers. Mae has created a culturally competent care model fit for
diverse patient populations, a growing population that represents
nearly half of the births in the U.S.” Kathryne Cooper, Partner,
Jumpstart Nova
Mae is equally committed to increasing the overall doula
provider workforce and works to support doulas interested in
Medicaid participation through registrations and ongoing
administrative support in serving Medicaid beneficiaries. Doulas
are a critical support in advocating for birthing people and
improving pregnancy experiences and outcomes.
According to Angelene Love, a community-based doula in Michigan
with whom Mae is partnered, “The support that Mae offers both
families and doulas is unmatched. Mae provides educational support
that they otherwise would not have access to, and I’ve been able to
amplify my reach to provide more families with doula support.”
With this funding, Mae will continue to harness the collective
expertise of community-based stakeholders, managed care
organizations, and state Departments of Health to drive meaningful
change for Black mothers, their communities, and the birth workers
supporting them.
About Mae
Mae is a culturally responsive digital first solution built to
address the specific clinical, social, and cultural needs of
underserved expectant mothers, with an early focus on Black
expectant mothers, those with the most striking disparities in
maternal health outcomes. Mae has created a space where complete
digital care meets culturally aligned on-the-ground doula support.
For more information, please visit meetmae.com.
About Jumpstart Nova
Jumpstart Nova is the first venture fund in America to invest
exclusively in Black founded and led healthcare companies at the
forefront of innovation. That was only the beginning. Jumpstart
Nova Fund I invests in seed and Series A stage companies in the
areas of tech-enabled services, biotech, diagnostic devices, health
IT, digital health, and consumer health & wellness. The fund is
strategically backed by leading healthcare organizations in the US
such as Eli Lilly and Company, HCA Healthcare, Cardinal Health,
Atrium Health, Henry Ford Health System, LHC Group, Meharry Medical
College, and American Hospital Association. For more information,
please visit jumpstartnova.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240507745562/en/
Rachel Nance Wade media@meetmae.com