SAN FRANCISCO– Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health (Wavemaker 360), the nation’s leading venture fund focused singularly on early-stage (primarily seed) healthcare disruptors, is augmenting its support for healthcare startups with the launch of a new outpost in the San Francisco Bay Area. The division is led by Kunal Varshneya, M.D., Wavemaker 360’s newly appointed Associate, who brings clinical expertise and a tech-centric, data-forward approach to the team.
“The Bay Area has long been a central hub pioneering healthcare solutions and we see a tremendous opportunity to support these entrepreneurs at the seed stage as we broaden our reach within the region. We are fortunate to have Kunal Varshneya, M.D., lead this effort given his specialized knowledge that spans healthcare, technology and data,” said John Nackel, Founder and General Partner of Wavemaker 360. “We look forward to supporting the next generation of Bay Area healthcare entrepreneurs and growing our portfolio with other venture fund partners.”
Spearheading the new division as Associate is Kunal Varshneya, M.D., a Stanford medical school graduate with a multidisciplinary background in clinical work, data and technology. Varshneya will collaborate with the Wavemaker 360 partner team to discover and evaluate early-stage health tech companies in the Bay Area for investment by the fund. Through customer and management references, industry research, market mapping and competitive analyses, Varshneya will build and communicate conviction on the most auspicious investment opportunities. Additionally, he will support the fund’s portfolio companies’ post-investment with go-to-market and fundraising activities.
“After medical school, I knew the best path for me to make a real impact is to leverage my education and experience to support startups solving real-world problems within the healthcare industry,” said Varshneya. “I’m passionate about scaling early-stage health tech companies to provide better solutions for physicians and more accessibility for patients. With Wavemaker 360, I have a rare opportunity to join a fund that’s 100% focused on healthcare. I’m grateful to join the team to help grow the fund’s portfolio and support emerging leaders in digital health, medical device, telehealth, pharma-tech and beyond.”
Expanding to the Bay Area has been a priority for Wavemaker 360 since its inception in 2018. The outpost will further the venture fund’s ability to source new seed-stage startups and elevate its national portfolio. On the heels of closing its Fund II at $64 million, the fund currently has $85MM+ assets under management (AUM) across two funds, and in less than four years has invested into 45 healthcare companies across the US, Canada, Europe and Singapore. One Fund II exit has already taken place, at an accelerated pace, with Carbon Health acquiring Alertive Health in October 2021.
Prior to receiving a Doctor of Medicine at Stanford University, Varshneya majored in neuroscience at the University of Southern California. Most recently, Varshneya spent multiple years as a data scientist at Stanford Healthcare. Prior professional roles also include investment fellow at PearVC; product manager at Precision Oncology; operations analyst at HealthBnB; product lead at CourseHat; and co-founder of two entities: USC Project RISHI, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that developed initiatives to improve rural populations in India, and Friend.ly, a seed-funded smartphone app he presented at Stanford MedicineX.
“My calling is to root myself in a career that doesn’t just touch a company’s bottom line, but changes peoples’ lives,” said Varshneya. “As an associate leading Wavemaker 360’s new Bay Area outpost, I believe we can touch hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives by supporting scalable healthcare disruptors and bolstering a future for healthcare 2.0.”
