Ladder Health, a virtual-first pediatric developmental care startup, announced on Tuesday that it secured $7 million in seed funding to expand into new markets.
Boston-based Ladder Health supports children aged 0 to 6, offering speech, occupational, physical and feeding therapy. The company’s care is delivered virtually to work around families’ schedules, with availability on weekends and evenings. It partners with more than 80 provider organizations and health systems in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Maryland.
“What makes the AI-enabled model distinct is that it’s caregiver-activated: our clinicians work directly with parents and caregivers, equipping them to support their child’s progress at home between sessions, where the majority of developmental growth actually happens. … Rather than replacing the pediatrician or specialist, our model extends expert care beyond the clinic and into the home, partnering with health systems and pediatric providers to reach families faster,” said Mitch Mudra, CEO of Ladder Health.
The seed round was led by Nina Capital, with participation from Mairs & Power Venture Capital, South Dakota First Capital, 25madison Health, Hatteras Venture Partners, Create Health Ventures, Jumpstart Capital, White Oak Enterprises, Groove Capital and 7Rock Ventures.
“Health systems are desperate for solutions that expand pediatric capacity, but traditional models are too expensive and hard to scale,” said Marta Zanchi, founder and managing partner at Nina Capital, in a statement. “We led this round because Ladder Health has built a clinically rigorous model that solves the throughput crisis for providers while delivering immediate, life-changing care to the families who need it most.”
With the financing, Ladder Health is expanding across North Carolina, Massachusetts and Maryland, as well as into new states, according to Mudra. It is also investing in its platform and health system partnerships, and working on deepening access in Medicaid, rural and underserved communities, he added.
Ladder Health’s funding comes as about one in four children under the age of six is at risk for developmental delay or disability. These children often face long wait times and provider shortages. This is something Mudra understands firsthand.
“When my own family navigated pediatric developmental care, we had every advantage and it was still incredibly difficult,” he said. “That experience is what made the problem real for me: it isn’t a lack of caring clinicians, it’s a system without enough capacity to meet the need, and an antiquated delivery model that’s just unreachable for the modern family. For rural families, Medicaid families, and working parents, those barriers are even greater. That’s the problem we built Ladder Health to solve, and it’s what drives everything we’re building.”
Another pediatric therapy company is Coral Care, though this company focuses on in-home care rather than virtual care like Ladder Health.
Picture: Feodora Chiosea, Getty Images
