Memed, the digital medical prescription platform acquired by DNA Capital five years ago, has brought in two new shareholders. Venture capital firms Bridge One and DGF led an R$80 million investment round, with all proceeds earmarked for expanding the company, which operates in a still largely untapped market in Brazil. Currently, only around 15% of medical prescriptions in the country are issued digitally.
DNA Capital, whose investors include the Bueno family, also participated in the transaction and remains Memed’s controlling shareholder. “We received interest from six funds. We chose Bridge One and DGF as partners because they have strong expertise in the software industry. That is a very specific skill set we need at Memed’s current stage,” said Luiz Noronha, partner at DNA Capital, the healthcare-focused investment firm that took full ownership of Memed in 2021.
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At the time, DNA invested R$300 million to acquire 100% of the company. Of that amount, R$100 million was directed toward expanding the platform, which reached breakeven in mid-2025 after 13 years of losses. “We do not have an exit date. This is still a business with significant growth opportunities ahead. The two new partners also have long-term perspectives,” Noronha said.
DNA Capital is also a shareholder in companies including diagnostic medicine group Dasa, Inspirali—the medical education arm of Ânima Educação—, vaccine and home-testing network Beep Saúde, and healthcare distributor Viveo, among others.
According to Rodolfo Chung, CEO of Memed, the company is increasing headcount even as artificial intelligence automates many processes. “Last year we had 90 employees. Now we have 160, and we plan to end the year with a team of 180 people. These are professionals experienced in AI, but they also need deeper expertise to work in healthcare. This is an area where mistakes are not acceptable,” said Chung, who became CEO in 2023 after spending 20 years at Ambev.
In addition to investing in a more robust digital platform, the company is developing new services for doctors. Among the ideas under development are medication reminders for patients with chronic illnesses, educational content explaining drug side effects, and guidance on medication dosages, among other services.
“Many appointments last only 10 minutes. Patients cannot ask all the questions they want. We can create tools and content that doctors send to patients after appointments,” Chung said. The platform is free for physicians to use.
Memed’s platform is currently used by around 150,000 doctors per month and generates 100 million digital prescriptions annually. According to Chung, Memed holds a 60% market share among physicians who use digital prescriptions.
The executive also sees growth opportunities following recent authorization from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), allowing digital issuance of controlled medical prescriptions, including those known in Brazil as “yellow” and “blue” prescriptions.
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