Foundation Health Secures $20 Million to Expand AI-Powered Pharmacy Infrastructure

Foundation Health, a healthcare technology startup founded in 2023 by Umar Afridi, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Define Ventures, with participation from Vanderbilt University, Intermountain Ventures, and existing investors. The company has raised $26 million since its launch, following a $6 million seed round in March 2024. The new funding will be used to expand its sales and operations teams and accelerate development of its pharmacy solution suite.

Afridi, a pharmacist by training who spent a decade in retail pharmacy, previously co-founded Truepill in 2016. Truepill contributed to the direct-to-consumer healthcare ecosystem, developing products for companies including Optum Store, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, and Eli Lilly’s Lilly Direct. After stepping down from Truepill in 2022, Afridi founded Foundation Health to address ongoing challenges in pharmacy operations through technology.

“Foundation Health is an evolution of that model of Truepill where we’re combining world-class, high-quality patient experiences with operational excellence in the pharmacies themselves,” Afridi said.

Foundation Health was created as a modern infrastructure layer to help care organizations, from large health systems to direct-to-consumer brands, deliver care more efficiently. The idea for the company emerged from discussions with founders, health plans, and pharmaceutical manufacturers who identified a need for a platform capable of providing direct-to-consumer healthcare experiences at scale.

Afridi said that many specialty pharmacies continue to rely on outdated software and manual processes, creating operational inefficiencies and requiring additional employees. Foundation Health’s approach seeks to automate these systems to reduce administrative burdens and improve coordination.

The company developed an in-house artificial intelligence pharmacist assistant called PAIGE AI, designed to automate patient communication and prior authorization workflows across both medical and pharmacy benefits. Integrated with major electronic health record systems, including Epic, the assistant handles refill processing, adherence outreach, benefits verification, medication onboarding, and prior authorization submissions. The company stated that PAIGE AI is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant.

By automating repetitive and high-volume tasks, Afridi said the AI tool can reduce care team workload by up to 75%, improve patient adherence, and allow pharmacists to focus on more complex clinical care. Foundation Health has also built a digital pharmacy platform that enables patients to manage accounts, refills, copays, and delivery through a white-label, self-service interface.

The company additionally developed a pharmacy dashboard that unifies workflows such as benefit verification, prescription management, prior authorization, and delivery logistics. Foundation Health also provides direct-to-patient solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers and consumer health brands.

The company is working with major health systems, including Intermountain Health and Hackensack Meridian Health. Afridi said Foundation Health is in discussions with about 50 health systems at various stages. Eboney Hadnott, network director of ambulatory care pharmacy services at Hackensack Meridian Health, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Foundation Health and their amazing technology. This collaboration will help us streamline our administrative tasks, allowing us to focus more on what truly matters—our patients.”

Afridi noted that, unlike his previous company, Truepill, Foundation Health does not operate pharmacies. He explained that the company is focusing entirely on software development, applying insights from his earlier experience to create solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers and health systems.

Lynne Chou O’Keefe, founder and managing partner at Define Ventures, described Foundation Health’s approach as comprehensive, scalable, and AI-native, emphasizing that it addresses key challenges faced by pharmacists and patients.

Foundation Health Secures $20 Million to Expand AI-Powered Pharmacy Infrastructure

Foundation Health, a fast-growing healthcare tech company, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round to build out infrastructure for pharmacy operations, care coordination, and direct-to-patient delivery. GlobeNewswire+2Fierce Healthcare+2

Here’s a look at what that means, why it’s important, and the potential impact.

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What the Funding Is For

• The round was led by Define Ventures, with participation from Vanderbilt University, Intermountain Ventures, and existing investors. This brings Foundation Health’s total funding since its founding in 2023 to around $26 million. GlobeNewswire+2Fierce Healthcare+2

• The capital will be used to:

  • Expand sales and operations teams. GlobeNewswire+1

  • Accelerate development of its pharmacy solution suite. GlobeNewswire+1

  • Meet growing demand from both health systems and direct-to-consumer (D2C) healthcare organizations. GlobeNewswire+1

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Key Technology: PAIGE AI and Platform Components

• Foundation Health’s PAIGE AI is central to the offering. It automates pharmacy tasks and workflows such as prior authorizations, patient communication, refill processing, adherence outreach, benefits verification, and medication onboarding. GlobeNewswire+1

• PAIGE AI integrates with major Electronic Health Records (EHRs) (for example, Epic), and is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant. GlobeNewswire+1

• According to the company, PAIGE AI can reduce manual, repetitive work for care teams by up to 75%, allowing pharmacists and staff to focus more on patient care, complex clinical tasks, and less on administrative burden. GlobeNewswire+1

Other components of their solution suite include: