Startup Abby Care raises $82 million to turn family members into paid caregivers

As a kid, Havi Nguyen sometimes missed school to translate at doctor’s appointments, and was managing Medicaid paperwork for her family, who had recently immigrated from Vietnam.

Whatever life in a new country threw at them, Nguyen as the eldest daughter was there—and the labyrinthine American health care system featured prominently in her world.

At 21, she started working at an early-stage health tech startup focused on therapy for children with autism.

It was the depths of COVID, and it was clear to Nguyen there was a gap: There just weren’t enough therapists and technicians, and sometimes they would move on rapidly from one gig to another.

“The question I kept asking myself was: Who’s that one person in the child’s life who’s not going to turn away, and is able to be with them to deliver that care?” Nguyen said.

“Parents were always willing to raise their hand and step up.

They would consistently ask us: Is there a way for me to learn these skills? So, I thought: Could we design a care model where the person who wants to deliver care to the patient is already with them?” The answer was Abby Care, an AI-native home care startup that trains family members to become certified, paid caregivers and supports them thereafter.

Nguyen founded the company—which operates as a Medicaid provider—in 2022.

Now, Abby Care has raised an $82 million Series C, led by Transformation Capital, Fortune has exclusively learned.

CVS Health Ventures, Frist Cressey Ventures, and Pivotal Ventures count among the company’s new investors, while existing investors Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia doubled down.

The company works with health plans to arrange care at home for families that need it.

In short, the hope is that by looping in patients, regulators, health plans, and family caregivers, there’s a view toward a health care system that works better for the most vulnerable.

“The companies that are really going to be able to succeed are companies that can think about designing the care model that brings all the stakeholders and the U.S. health care system together,” Nguyen said.

Much has been made of the pressures on the health care workforce in the U.S., from the burnout of doctors and nurses to the extant and looming labor shortages.