DaVita Venture Group Research
Investment Thesis
DaVita Venture Group is the corporate venture and external innovation arm of DaVita Inc., the largest US provider of kidney care and dialysis. The group's stated mission is to build with innovators and provide strategic capital to improve the lives of patients with kidney disease. It was launched in May 2020 and sits inside DaVita's corporate strategy organization, so every investment is judged against whether it can improve care, cost or outcomes for kidney patients or extend DaVita's clinical capabilities into adjacent areas of care.
The group publishes four investment priorities:
- Care Models: tech-enabled services, home treatments and value-based care.
- Digital Health: data and artificial intelligence to improve care delivery.
- New Service Lines: extending DaVita's clinical excellence to adjacent verticals of care.
- Life Sciences: pharma, devices and diagnostics that improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs.
Stage Focus
The group describes its venture capital capability as stage agnostic. In practice the portfolio skews to Series A and Series B rounds in which it is a strategic co-lead or participant, with some earlier and later positions. Stage is not stated per company on the website, so no per-company stage is recorded here.
Check Size
The website says the venture capital arm can invest up to $10M per company. No minimum is published. The corporate development team separately executes larger scale investments, acquisitions and joint ventures, which are outside the venture check range.
Lead Tendency
Both. It co-led R1 Therapeutics' $77.5M Series A (March 2026) alongside Abingworth and F-Prime Capital, and joined as a new investor in Greater Good Health's $20.5M Series B led by Allumia Ventures (March 2026). It has also been a repeat participant in Xeltis rounds led by others.
Recent Activity
- March 2026: co-led R1 Therapeutics' $77.5M Series A, a first-in-class treatment for hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease.
- March 2026: joined Greater Good Health's $20.5M Series B as a new investor.
- July 2026: Xeltis raised an additional EUR 20.5M with DaVita Venture Group listed among existing investors.
- Third-party trackers show roughly 18 investments in total, with the most recent logged in late September 2026 (R1 Therapeutics).
Fund status: this is a corporate balance sheet program with no discrete fund vintage or published AUM, so fund status is recorded as actively deploying on the strength of 2026 activity.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio page shows 14 logos, 11 labeled active and 3 labeled exited: Greater Good Health, R1 Therapeutics, Linea, eGenesis, Xeltis, X9, MedSleuth, Vynca, Pathalys, Heartbeat, Wellth, Dock Health, Miromatrix and Samesky Health. Miromatrix was acquired by United Therapeutics in December 2023. The mix spans value-based care services, xenotransplantation (eGenesis), bioengineered organs and vascular grafts, advanced care planning software, and renal drugs.
Team
The team page lists 18 people, mostly DaVita corporate development, strategy and pharma contracting staff rather than dedicated venture partners:
- Mahesh Krishnan, Group Vice President, founder and co-lead of the group (a third-party bio suggests he may have moved to another company; confirm)
- Brad Marzullo, Vice President, Corporate Development, Venture Capital, and Partnerships
- Steve Phillips, Chief Strategy Officer
- Nick Rolfes, Senior Director, Venture Capital
- Will Tonelli, Manager, Venture Capital
- Emile Bjerkholt, Director, Corporate Development
- Jamie Ouyang, Manager, Corporate Development
- Jess Cronin, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships
- Tom Musgrave, VP, Pharma and MedTech Strategy and Contracting
- Allison Donovan, Group General Counsel
The venture capital contacts to target are Nick Rolfes and Will Tonelli, with Brad Marzullo as the senior owner.
Decision Process
As a corporate venture arm, decisions run through DaVita's internal strategy and corporate development leadership and likely require strategic fit sign-off. The exact committee structure is not published, so it is recorded as unknown.
Founder Preferences
Founders building products DaVita could pilot, co-develop or buy: kidney care, chronic disease management, home dialysis, value-based care enablement, and renal therapeutics. The group offers strategic partnerships to co-develop, pilot and incubate new care models and technologies, which is the main value beyond capital.
Geographic Focus
Based in Denver, Colorado, with portfolio companies in the US and Europe (Xeltis is Dutch and Swiss). The site states no geographic restriction.