7wireVentures is a Chicago-based venture capital firm that invests exclusively in healthcare — specifically, in consumer-oriented digital health companies. Founded by managing partners Glen Tullman and Lee Shapiro, the firm has spent more than a decade backing businesses that put patients, rather than institutions, at the centre of care.
The firm's entire strategy revolves around a single thesis it calls the "informed connected health consumer": the idea that technology, shared data and aligned incentives can give patients the knowledge and resources they need to manage their own health. That thesis has guided 7wireVentures from its earliest investments through to its latest and largest vehicle, the $217 million Growth & Opportunity Fund (GO Fund), announced in October 2023.
The GO Fund marked a shift for a firm known as an early-stage investor. About two-thirds of the fund is reserved for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies, with the remaining third targeting Series B and Series C rounds in new companies. Initial cheques run $10 million to $15 million, with companies able to receive up to $25 million in total across multiple rounds. The close of the fund took 7wireVentures' total assets under management to more than $500 million.
That portfolio reads as a who's who of consumer digital health. The firm's best-known outcome is Livongo, the chronic-care company led by Glen Tullman that Teladoc acquired in 2020 for $18.5 billion. Other names on the roster include Transcarent, the consumer-directed health and care platform for employees of self-insured employers; NOCD, the AI-enabled specialty therapy platform for obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions; FOLX Health, the virtual healthcare provider designed for the LGBTQIA+ community, whose $30 million financing round was led by 7wireVentures; and Parsley Health, the virtual clinic for complex chronic conditions. Newer investments include Karoo Health (technology-enabled cardiology care), When (an AI-powered platform for COBRA alternatives during workforce transitions), WellTheory (whole-person autoimmune care), Brightline (tech-enabled behavioral health for children and families), Jasper Health (end-to-end cancer care navigation) and Zerigo Health (connected at-home phototherapy for chronic skin disorders). The firm also led the seed round in Override, the virtual chronic-pain company founded by former US Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, alongside Martin Ventures.
The team brings deep operating experience. Glen Tullman (managing partner) was CEO of Livongo and previously of Allscripts; Lee Shapiro (managing partner) was Livongo's chief financial officer and Allscripts' president. Partners include Robert Garber and Alyssa Jaffee, with David Schonthal and former Cigna executive Tom Richards serving as operating partners.
7wireVentures publishes a set of sector maps and "Top of the Ladder" founder conversations on its website covering behavioral health, cardiovascular disease, employer healthcare, longevity and generative AI in clinical care — a useful window into where the partners' attention is focused. The firm does not publicly list any founder credits, perks or accelerator-style programmes, so founders should expect a traditional venture relationship rather than bundled services.
Why it matters for founders
If you are building a consumer-facing digital health company — behavioral health, chronic-care management, employer health, women's health or care navigation — 7wireVentures is one of the few firms in the world that does nothing else. Its partners have run large healthcare companies, its strategic partners include the health systems and payers who buy digital health products, and the GO Fund gives it meaningful follow-on firepower ($10 million to $15 million cheques, up to $25 million per company) well beyond the seed stage.