With $10.5 million in supergiant seed funding, Caraway launches to bring personalized telehealth to Gen Z women in college

When one of Caraway’s earliest members started using the telehealth service, she faced an unexpected $150 copay for her birth control prescription. As a new college student, the patient was navigating the healthcare world for the first time and didn’t know how to avoid the massive cost. 

When she brought her problem to Caraway, the startup virtually connected her with a gynecologist who worked with her insurance to prescribe a different birth control medication that was not only covered, but could also be picked up at her college’s Student Health center instead of at a pharmacy off-campus.

Over the course of the member’s treatment, her care specialists also learned about her history with thyroid issues and mental health concerns and were able to direct her to additional care resources for her physical and mental health. 

“The conversation was started all in one visit,” said the startup’s co-founder Lori Evans Bernstein.

This woman’s experience is one example of how Caraway says it is working to provide personalized mental, physical, and reproductive health services via telehealth to Gen Z women in college. As of today, the startup has officially launched on 34 college campuses in New York, California after spending the fall quietly ramping up operations at pilot universities in September such as Columbia University, New York University, Vassar College, and the University of California-Berkeley. This month, Caraway will also launch in Ohio and North Carolina

Founded earlier this year by Evans Bernstein and Joshua Taber, Caraway’s aim is to support women in college with their healthcare needs and educate them in the process. Evans Bernstein explained that as someone who has worked in healthcare space for years, she’s seen the quality of care fall while young, college-age women in her life were increasingly struggling with their work, physical health, and mental health. 

A telehealth option for Gen Z women in college 

The women’s healthcare space is crowded, with more femtech startups than ever cropping up to grab a slice of a market forecasted to grow to $58.24 billion by 2030, according to Grandview Research. Telemedicine startups like unicorn Maven Clinic and Tia, alongside birth-control startups The Pill Club and SimpleHealth have earned attention — and venture dollars.

Caraway came out of stealth in July with $10.5 million in supergiant seed funding led by founding partners Chrissy Farr at OMERS Ventures and Alyssa Jaffee at 7wireVentures. The larger-than-normal seed round gave Caraway enough money to fuel growth in an underserved market, Farr and Jaffee previously told Insider. 

“The goal is to build a really generational company, and it takes a lot of capital to make sure that happens,” Alyssa Jaffee, a 7wireVentures partner, said.

Caraway is currently free, but eventually, the startup will charge $20 monthly or $180 annually. Members receive full-service virtual healthcare for mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and sleep problems; physical health issues such as acne, allergies, birth control, and abortion counseling; and common illnesses such as colds; flus; sinus infections; strep, and mono. The startup also provides referrals for in-person appointments such as annual physicals and IUD placement.

Caraway currently does not offer medication abortion services, gender-affirming care, eating disorder treatment, or ADHD diagnoses, but will work with members on referrals and to provide continued care virtually. 

The startup serves the “women-plus” community and is aiming to be inclusive of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations between the ages of 18 and 27.

Education as a key part of healthcare

Caraway is also betting heavily on using personalized education and campus outreach as a way to attract more customers. 

Within the app, patients can ask a care specialist questions 24/7 around how they can access different services based on their current state.  Access to reproductive healthcare services varies widely from state to state, especially after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June of 2022.  

“We’re trying now to focus on the solutions because we want to arm young women with the independence and skills that they need with respect to their health,” Evans Bernstein said.

Care specialists provide direct education for students on mental health too, such as techniques to de-escalate stress and anxiety flare-ups. The company hopes to focus on prevention and help for women before their stress turns into an anxiety diagnosis, said Evans Bernstein.

Other startups like Mantra Health, which raised a $22 million Series A last year, also focus on mental health for college students. 

The company is building education into its outreach strategy as well, by hiring students on college campuses to get the word out about Caraway. So far, the startup has 13 “Caraway Campus Ambassadors,” or interns, on college campuses in the states it’s currently operating in.  In tandem with growing its ambassador program, Caraway in 2023 is also looking to expand into more states and will start providing in-person care through student health center partnerships.

As the startup grows, Evans Bernstein said Caraway’s focus is improving the healthcare experience for an entire generation of young people.

 “I think that sowing a different experience for Gen Z women will help inspire more systemic changes in the healthcare system that we definitely need,” she said.