MedMountain Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
MedMountain Ventures is a physician-founded and physician-led venture capital firm dedicated to investing in healthcare innovation that makes meaningful advancements to patient care. Founded in 2018, the firm combines clinical expertise with operational excellence to help promising healthcare technologies reach market and achieve impact. The fund's distinctive thesis emphasizes early-stage identification of innovative healthcare solutions coupled with hands-on operational support from a team of practicing physicians and experienced healthcare executives.
Branden Rosenhan, MD, a board-certified ICU physician and serial medtech founder, leads the firm after spending a decade cultivating relationships in the venture community. The team's physician-founder background (Rosenhan as an ICU physician, Thakur as a hospitalist and healthcare startup operator, Wang as a clinical assistant professor and practicing physician) enables them to provide deep clinical validation and strategic guidance that purely financial investors cannot.
Core Investment Philosophy
The firm operates on the principle that "healthcare innovation is a team sport." They identify promising technologies early in their life cycle and provide more than just capital—they invest operational expertise, clinical validation, strategic networks, and board-level guidance. Their team brings diverse expertise:
- As Founders: Considerable expertise in operations, development, and strategy from direct founder experience
- As Physicians: Deep clinical understanding and genuine care for what founders are building
- As Collaborators: Access to networks of strategic partners, technical experts, potential hires, and co-investors
- As Venture Capitalists: Early commitment and willingness to collaborate generously with leading funds
Sector and Technology Focus
MedMountain Ventures concentrates on healthcare innovation across multiple categories:
Clinical & Diagnostic Solutions:
- Wireless biosensors and monitoring (Epitel - wireless EEG)
- Clinical AI and decision support (avoMD - point of care clinical AI)
- Diagnostics and testing (LineLogic - central venous catheter management)
Digital Health & Care Delivery:
- Telehealth nursing (PocketRN - on-demand telehealth)
- Behavioral health (OptionsMD - virtual-first mental health center of excellence)
- Patient matching and care coordination (Stellation - econometric patient-provider matching)
Healthcare Operations & Intelligence:
- Data platforms (Gradient Health - healthcare data marketplace; great expectations - enterprise data fidelity)
- AI-powered analytics (Alvee - AI for social determinants of health management)
- Healthcare intelligence (Clint Health - clinical intelligence via patient state)
Medical Devices & Therapeutics:
- Minimally invasive devices (FluidX Medical - embolic device for vascular occlusion)
- Safety innovations (Penblade - modern surgical scalpel redesign)
- Emergency care (Emergency Scientific - minimally invasive hemorrhage control)
Emerging Focus Areas:
- Agentic AI for healthcare (invested in Confido Health, an AI voice agent platform, in September 2025)
- Caregiver enablement (Ceresti - AI-scaled caregiver enablement)
- Hearing innovation (Concha Labs - AI hearing device tuning)
- Substance abuse treatment (Pocket Naloxone - OTC naloxone access)
Stage Focus and Check Size
MedMountain Ventures focuses primarily on Seed-stage investments with selective exposure to Pre-Seed and Series A:
- Pre-Seed: Early prototype and feasibility validation
- Seed: Product-market fit validation and initial traction (primary focus)
- Series A: Selective follow-on investments and co-leads with larger funds
Check Size Range: $500,000 - $5,000,000
- Pre-Seed typical: $500K-$1M
- Seed typical: $1M-$3M
- Follow-on and Series A: Up to $5M
Based on portfolio composition, the median check size appears to be in the $1-2M range for Seed investments.
Investment Activity
MedMountain Ventures has been actively deploying capital:
Recent Investments (2025):
- September 2025: Participated in Confido Health Series A ($10M led by Blume Ventures) - AI voice agents for healthcare scheduling and patient engagement
- Ongoing engagement with portfolio for board participation and operational support
Historical Activity:
- Founded 2018 with focus on medtech and healthcare innovation
- Built portfolio of 16+ companies as of August 2025
- Multiple exits achieved including Penblade (surgical device) and FluidX Medical
- Consistent deal flow with 1+ new investments annually over recent years
Fund Status: Actively deploying, with deep engagement in portfolio support and co-investor collaboration
Portfolio Highlights
Active Portfolio Companies (20 listed on website):
- Stellation - Modern econometric approach to patient-provider matching
- PocketRN - On-demand telehealth nursing
- Gradient Health - Healthcare data marketplace
- eddi - CGM-integrated digital health platform for diabetes
- Beaming Health - Helping families access pediatric developmental delay specialists
- avoMD - Point of care clinical AI and decision support
- Alvee - AI platform for enterprise SDOH management
- great expectations - Enterprise data fidelity
- Epitel - Wireless EEG
- OptionsMD - Virtual-first center of excellence for serious mental illness
- Clint Health - Clinical intelligence via exact patient state
- Inherent Biosciences - Molecular diagnostics at intersection of epigenetics and AI
- PeerCollective - Evidence-based, affordable peer counseling
- ReddyPort - Non-invasive ventilation care innovation
- Pocket Naloxone - Over-the-counter naloxone access
- LineLogic - Central venous catheter line management
- Emergency Scientific - Minimally invasive hemorrhage control devices
- Concha Labs - AI hearing device tuning
- Ceresti - AI-scaled caregiver enablement
- Confido Health - AI voice agents (Series A, September 2025)
Exited Companies:
- Penblade - Modern surgical scalpel redesign
- FluidX Medical Technology - Novel embolic device
Team
Branden Rosenhan, MD - Founding and Managing Partner
- Board-certified ICU physician and critical care specialist
- Serial medtech founder with direct experience building healthcare companies
- Spent decade cultivating venture relationships
- In-demand guest lecturer on medtech and healthcare innovation
- Based in Salt Lake City
- Led fund formation and strategy
Saumitra Thakur, MD, MBA - Managing Director
- Board-certified internal medicine hospitalist
- Healthcare startup operator with operational and strategic expertise
- Active venture advisor
- Stanford MBA
- Regular mentor and speaker at Stanford
- Judges innovation competitions
- Based in San Francisco
Jane Wang, MD - Partner, New Ventures
- Clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford
- Previously in clinical operations at Lyra
- Johns Hopkins medical school graduate
- UCLA internal medicine residency
- Board-certified in internal medicine
- Based in Palo Alto
Marc Cohen - Partner, CFO
- Decades of experience building healthcare and regulated industry companies
- 25+ years as CEO of high-growth companies in VC/PE environments
- Active angel investor, fund LP, and advisor
- Based in Salt Lake City
Geographic Focus
MedMountain Ventures shows clear geographic concentration:
- Primary Markets: Utah (Salt Lake City - HQ), Northern California (San Francisco/Palo Alto)
- Secondary Markets: Across US healthcare hubs
- Investment Pattern: While based in Salt Lake City, the firm has strong West Coast presence and likely invests nationally in healthcare innovation
Decision Process and Engagement
Decision Structure: Partnership-based
- Multiple physicians and experienced operators involved in investment decisions
- Clinical validation appears to be core to decision-making
- Board participation and operational involvement from day one
Timeline: 2-4 weeks typical for seed-stage decisions based on healthcare innovation complexity
Warm Introductions: Highly recommended
- Network is core asset (as emphasized on website)
- Existing relationships with healthcare operators, entrepreneurs, and institutional investors
Typical Involvement: Board seat or board observer status
- Active operational engagement
- Hands-on support with clinical validation, regulatory strategy, operations
- Network activation for hiring, partnerships, follow-on capital
Founder Preferences
Based on portfolio and team composition, MedMountain Ventures favors:
Ideal Founder Profiles:
- Clinical or healthcare operations background
- Former pharmaceutical, medical device, or healthcare IT executives
- Physicians or healthcare professionals solving problems they've experienced
- Operations-minded founders (not pure scientists or academics)
- Teams with diverse expertise (clinical + business)
Thesis Alignment:
- Genuine focus on improving patient care (not just financial returns)
- Problems that are deeply understood from clinical experience
- Solutions with clear clinical validation pathway
- Teams with operational excellence mindset
Anti-patterns:
- Pure consumer health without clinical moat
- Venture by non-clinical founders solving clinical problems
- Solutions without clear regulatory or reimbursement pathway
Competitive Advantages and Differentiation
Physician-Led Advantage: In healthcare venture, having practicing physicians and healthcare operators (not just business-trained VCs) provides unique advantages:
- Clinical credibility with founder teams
- Regulatory and reimbursement pathway guidance
- Healthcare network access
- Validation of clinical claims
Operational Support: The firm's emphasis on founder experience and hands-on operational help differentiates them from pure financial investors. Board members have CEO experience and healthcare operational expertise.
Strategic Positioning: Based in Salt Lake City with strong SF Bay Area presence provides:
- Access to both healthcare IT ecosystem (San Francisco) and medtech ecosystem (broader US)
- Deep Utah healthcare network (HCA Healthcare headquarters, IHC, innovation culture)
- National reach while maintaining personal touch
Investment Trends Observed
Recent Sector Emphasis (2025 Activity):
- AI in Healthcare: Strong focus on AI applications (Confido Health voice agents, Clint Health patient intelligence, Alvee AI for SDOH, avoMD clinical AI)
- Care Delivery Innovation: Telehealth and care access (PocketRN, Stellation, Beaming Health)
- Healthcare Data and Intelligence: Enterprise data solutions becoming increasingly central
- Behavioral Health: Mental health and substance abuse treatment space
Investment Approach Evolution:
- Moving toward AI-augmented healthcare delivery
- Strong interest in healthcare operations and data
- Continued focus on medical devices but with increasing software/AI integration
Fund Information
Founded: 2018 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (HQ), with presence in San Francisco Fund Size: Information not publicly disclosed Status: Active investor as of February 2026 Backing: Physician-led, appears to be founder-backed or angel-backed initially
Notable Public Appearances and Thought Leadership
- Branden Rosenhan is featured in CTIP (Clinical Technology Innovation Program) Investor Advisory Board
- Team regularly appears on venture and healthcare innovation panels
- Active in medtech and healthcare innovation communities
- Judges innovation competitions
- Guest lecturer at Stanford Medical School and MBA program
Summary
MedMountain Ventures represents a unique positioning in healthcare venture capital: a physician-founded, physician-led fund that combines clinical expertise with operational excellence. Their thesis—that healthcare innovation requires both capital AND operational support—has proven successful with a portfolio of 20+ companies spanning digital health, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare operations.
The team's clinical credibility, healthcare operational experience, and genuine focus on patient outcomes differentiate them in a crowded medtech venture space. Their geographic split between Salt Lake City and San Francisco positions them well for national healthcare innovation. Recent activity (2025 participation in Confido Health AI agent platform) shows adaptation to emerging healthcare trends around AI-augmented care delivery.
For healthcare founders with clinical validation and operational sophistication, MedMountain Ventures represents an investor who can provide both capital and strategic guidance. The partnership structure and hands-on approach suits founders seeking board-level operational support rather than purely financial backing.