Primary Care Firm Forward Ceases Operations in Shock Announcement

According to a surprise public announcement, primary care provider Forward has unexpectedly ceased all activities, including the closure of its facilities and the cancellation of planned meetings.

Additionally, the company announced on its website that it would be discontinuing its mobile application in the near future. The website did not contain any more accessible information.

The firm employs almost 200 people, all of whom will lose their jobs. The firm stated that it would offer consumers further information about how they could access their medical data in the future. Additionally, the company will provide some recommended resources for individuals looking for a new provider.

Forward further stated that it was grateful to its members for giving it a chance to provide them with high-quality preventive care for the past eight years.

The firm began operations in 2016 as a direct primary care business powered by technology and operated on a cash-pay basis without accepting insurance.

According to a report by TechCrunch, the company has raised $657 million to date. In 2021, Forward reached a valuation of $1 billion.

Following the completion of a Series E investment round in 2023, Forward received $100 million and proceeded to launch Forward CarePods. The firm announced in November 2023 that the self-service kiosks would be deployed in malls, gyms, and workplaces beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. These kiosks would employ AI to identify and diagnose health issues.

Adrian Aoun, the vocal CEO of Forward, said in November 2023 that the AI-driven CarePods are structured like kiosks that automate medical examinations. The CarePods represent a progression in the company’s objective to use technology to expand healthcare services to extensive populations—essentially, all individuals, according to Aoun.

In 2021, the firm secured a $225 million Series D fundraising round, supported by Founders Fund, Softbank, Khosla Ventures, Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce), and singer The Weeknd. The firm was valued at $1 billion during its Series D funding round.

In the last eight years, the healthcare “unicorn” established technology-driven primary care clinics in 19 sites, employing over 100 primary care professionals.

Prior to establishing Forward, Aoun led special initiatives for the CEO of Google/Alphabet, during which he launched Sidewalk Labs, one of the Alphabet firms. He joined Google after the purchase of his AI firm Wavii and dedicated his first year to establishing and developing their AI section.