Summary:
Winter Street Ventures transitions from a health insurer's innovation arm to a standalone venture capital firm under Chris Palmieri's leadership
Palmieri, former CEO of Commonwealth Care Alliance, aims to raise $100 million to invest in early-stage health-tech startups
CCA served as a living laboratory for testing innovations, but faced financial challenges before being sold to CareSource in April
The firm retains the Winter Street name and intellectual property, with fundraising efforts officially started last month
For a decade, Winter Street Ventures served as the innovation arm of health insurer Commonwealth Care Alliance, nurturing tech entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas in health care. Now, it's embarking on the same mission but as an independent venture capital firm.
Leading this new chapter is Chris Palmieri, the former CEO of CCA, a $3 billion-a-year health insurer focused on Medicaid and Medicare plans. Under Palmieri's leadership, CCA functioned as a real-world testing ground for Winter Street's entrepreneurs, with patients and staff acting as a living laboratory. However, CCA encountered financial difficulties in its final days, driven by rising health care utilization and reduced state funding, ultimately leading to its acquisition by the larger nonprofit CareSource based in Dayton, Ohio, in April.
Prior to the acquisition, Palmieri acquired the Winter Street brand, contacts, and related intellectual property from CCA. Last month, he officially launched efforts to raise $100 million for Winter Street's inaugural fund, targeting completion within the next six months. The firm retains its name, a nod to CCA's original location in Downtown Crossing, though its office is now situated on Charles Street in Beacon Hill.
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