Grand Ventures invests in health care platform

A local venture capital firm participated in an $8.7 million seed round for a health care-focused fintech company.

Grand Rapids-based Grand Ventures was one of multiple recent investors to support MedZERO, a platform providing employees with on-demand access to funds to pay out-of-pocket health care expenses.

According to the firm, the decision to invest came from MedZERO’s position as a solution for medical debt, which impacts millions of Americans. Grand Ventures also cited MedZERO’s customer testimonials and exceptional team as key factors for its investment.

“With our increasing focus on fintech and digital health, we’re incredibly excited to work alongside MedZERO as they continue to grow and redefine what medical debt means to the average American,” the firm said.

Tim Streit, general partner at Grand Ventures, led the deal. The firm’s newest team member Nick Cohn, investment analyst, introduced the firm to MedZERO.

According to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this year, more than $88 billion in medical debt is held on credit cards with 61% of Americans carrying medical debt having employer-provided health insurance.

MedZERO is positioned to support employees be providing instant approval with no credit check or impact, allowing employees to pay for medical care on the spot and repay via payroll deductions with zero interest and no fees.

Grand Ventures joins Silicon Valley-based firms and existing MedZERO investors True Ventures and Village Global in this seed round participation. The startup has additional super angels who also serve as advisers.

At the time of publication, MedZERO co-founder and CEO Craig Froude said the seed funding round is still open for new investors to join.

The platform was founded in Portland, Oregon, and raised its first round of capital in 2021.