Sesame

What Sesame does

Sesame is a New York-based, cash-pay telehealth marketplace founded in 2018 that connects patients directly with a network of 10,000+ board-certified healthcare providers across all 50 U.S. states via on-demand video visits. The platform offers transparent, upfront pricing across more than 380 services spanning urgent care, prescription refills, mental health, weight loss (including GLP-1 medications), fertility care, women's health, pediatric care, dermatology, and allergy and ED treatment, with visits starting at $34. Sesame deliberately bypasses health insurance to avoid co-pays, deductibles, and surprise billing, instead relying on direct-to-consumer payments, subscriptions, and prescription revenue; it accepts HSA/FSA funds for eligible services. The company generates revenue through a mix of one-time pay-per-visit fees, recurring SesamePlus memberships ($99-$119/month), subscription care programs for mental health, weight loss, fertility, and $1 chronic-condition medications (EverydayRx), and transactional margin on GLP-1 distribution via its Novo Nordisk partnership.

The business has scaled to over 1 million patients served with a reported $50 million+ in cumulative patient savings and a 95% satisfaction rating. Distribution has expanded beyond the core sesamecare.com web and iOS/Android apps into strategic B2B and channel partnerships, most notably with Costco and IVI RMA North America for fertility care, Novo Nordisk for the oral Wegovy GLP-1, and Health-E Commerce's FSA Store and HSA Store platforms, supplemented by a Sesame @ Work employer benefit offering. The company is venture-backed (approximately $91 million raised across multiple rounds, with a $16 million extension led by GV in June 2025), remains privately held, and operates with a lean headcount of 11-50 employees against its large distributed provider network.

Name

Sesame

Legal name

Sesame, Inc.

Website

https://sesamecare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telehealth Marketplace

NAICS

Offices of Physicians (6211), Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) (62133)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Direct-to-Consumer Telehealth Marketplaces (Multi-Provider Aggregators) (HLALAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Specialty Telehealth Provider Marketplaces (HLALALAA), Women’s & Family Health Provider Marketplaces (HLALALAK)

Keywords

• Telehealth marketplace
• Cash-pay healthcare
• Video consultations
• Prescription services
• Direct-to-consumer telehealth

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Pay-per-Visit Consultations: One-time video consultation fees ranging from $34-$50 per visit depending on service type. Patients pay upfront for telehealth appointments without insurance involvement.
2. SesamePlus Subscription: Monthly membership program offering discounted rates on visits ($99-$119/month), exclusive promotions, and 20% off first visit. Recurring subscription revenue with tiered pricing.
3. EverydayRx Program: Ongoing care subscription providing $1 medications with continuous treatment plans for chronic conditions.
4. Fertility Care Coordination: Fertility care coordination services through Costco partnership, providing diagnostic workups, specialist referrals, and medication coordination.
5. GLP-1 Weight Loss Medications: Distribution of Wegovy and other GLP-1 medications through Novo Nordisk partnership. Medication costs starting at $149/month for self-pay patients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sesame operates a direct-pay telehealth marketplace that connects patients with 10,000+ board-certified physicians and specialists across all 50 US states via on-demand video visits. The platform enables self-serve booking across 380+ service categories—urgent care, prescription refills, mental health, weight loss (including GLP-1 access), fertility, women's health, pediatric care, and dermatology—with transparent upfront pricing starting at $34 per visit, bypassing insurance entirely.

Product overview

Sesame operates a direct-to-consumer cash-pay telehealth marketplace platform connecting patients with 10,000+ licensed healthcare providers across all 50 US states. The platform offers video visits for urgent care, prescription refills, weight loss (including GLP-1 medications like Wegovy), mental health, fertility, women's health, pediatric care, dermatology, and more—all with transparent upfront pricing starting as low as $34/visit. The core offering is the Sesame Telehealth Platform supplemented by a membership program (SesamePlus), employer solution (Sesame @ Work), and mobile app. The platform does not accept insurance and positions itself as an affordable alternative for uninsured patients or those with high deductibles, having served over 1 million patients and offering more than 380 services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sesame Telehealth Platform A cash-pay telehealth marketplace platform that connects self-paying patients with 10,000+ licensed, board-certified healthcare providers for video visits. The platform offers transparent, upfront pricing without insurance involvement, enabling same-day appointment booking across all 50 US states for 380+ services including urgent care, prescription refills, weight loss, mental health, fertility, women's health, pediatric care, and dermatology.
• Online Urgent Care Virtual urgent care visits available 24/7 for immediate health concerns including asthma, allergies, cold, flu, COVID-19, sinus infections, skin infections, rashes, UTIs, vaginal infections, and gastrointestinal issues. Starts at $34 per visit with same-day appointment availability across all 50 states.
• Prescription Refill Online prescription and refill services for ongoing medication needs including mental health medications, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid conditions, erectile dysfunction, asthma, and allergies. Starts at $36 per visit and includes a prescription savings card for up to 80% off medications at pharmacies.
• Online Weight Loss Program Subscription weight loss program offering telehealth access to GLP-1 medications including Wegovy pill and pen, Zepbound, Ozempic, Mounjaro, Rybelsus, and metformin with provider supervision. Pricing starts at $59/month for the program; Wegovy pill starts at $149/month for self-pay patients through Sesame's Novo Nordisk NovoCare partnership.
• Mental Health Prescription Services Mental health prescription subscriptions for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, insomnia, and performance anxiety. Includes medications such as escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and venlafaxine ER (Effexor XR) with ongoing medication management. Starting at $79/month including video visits.
• Fertility Care Program Online fertility treatment offering video consultations with specialists, personalized plans, and ongoing support for IVF, egg freezing, and intrauterine insemination. Through the Costco and IVI RMA North America partnership, services include coordinated diagnostics, specialty referrals, and medication savings up to 80%. Pricing starts at $116/month ($99/month for Costco members); IVF treatments range $5,000-$30,000.
• Women's Health Services Subscription women's health services including menopause treatment, PCOS treatment, birth control prescriptions, fertility care, UTI treatment, and vaginal and yeast infection treatment. Menopause and PCOS programs start at $59/month.
• Pediatric Care Virtual pediatric visits for children covering allergies, asthma, cold and flu, ear infections, rashes, sinus infections, and stomach aches. New patient visits start at $55 per visit.
• Prescription Skincare and Dermatology Online dermatology consultations and prescription skincare for skin conditions including acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, vitiligo, hair thinning, and skin rashes. Prescription skincare starts at $59/month.
• Allergy Consult Online allergy consultations and treatment for seasonal allergies, hay fever, and allergic reactions. Available 24/7 across all 50 US states.
• Erectile Dysfunction Treatment Online ED consultations and prescriptions for sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Staxyn), starting at $36 per visit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Healthcare prices reduced by up to 67% for various care types compared to traditional insurance-based pricing
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• CostcoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Strategic partnership offering Costco members discounted fertility care through Sesame's platform and IVI RMA clinics. Includes up to 80% savings on fertility medications like Follistim. Membership pricing starts at $99/month for fertility coordination.
• IVI RMA North AmericaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Global fertility clinic network partnering with Sesame and Costco to provide coordinated fertility treatment, diagnostic workups, and specialty referrals. Offers additional negotiated discounts at IVI RMA clinics for Costco members requiring specialized treatment.
• Novo NordiskcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2026Sesame became a NovoCare Recognized Care Provider to launch Wegovy pill (first FDA-approved oral GLP-1 weight loss medication) nationwide. Offers transparent pricing with video appointments across all 50 states, starting at $149/month for self-pay patients.
• Health-E CommerceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 May 2025Collaboration making Sesame's virtual mental health and dermatology care available on FSA Store and HSA Store platforms, expanding access to 70+ million Americans enrolled in tax-free health accounts.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hims & Hers Health: Direct D2C telehealth competitor offering cash-pay video visits, prescription medications (including GLP-1s, mental health, ED, hair loss, dermatology), and subscription-based care plans. Closest comparable in business model — marketplace-style platform bypassing insurance with transparent pricing and recurring revenue.
• Ro: D2C telehealth platform providing cash-pay virtual care across men's health, women's health, fertility, weight loss (including GLP-1s), dermatology, and mental health. Competes directly with Sesame on multi-specialty cash-pay telehealth marketplace model and consumer brand positioning.
• Amazon One Medical: Membership-based primary care platform combining in-person clinics with 24/7 virtual care, offering transparent pricing ($199/year) and integrated Amazon Pharmacy fulfillment. Directly competes with Sesame in D2C primary care, GLP-1 distribution, and chronic condition management, with massive distribution advantage via Prime.
• Thirty Madison: D2C telehealth platform operating multiple condition-specific brands (Hims, Hers, Keeps, Cove, Nurx) for hair loss, ED, mental health, migraines, and women's health. Directly comparable cash-pay D2C model with subscription revenue across chronic and lifestyle conditions.

Broad incumbents

• Teladoc Health: Largest publicly traded telehealth incumbent offering virtual visits across primary care, mental health, chronic conditions, and specialty care. Competes with Sesame in multi-specialty telehealth but operates primarily through insurance/B2B contracts rather than cash-pay D2C marketplace.
• Amwell: Enterprise-focused telehealth platform providing virtual care infrastructure to health systems, insurers, and employers. Competes in the same telehealth category as Sesame but targets B2B/insurance-paid visits rather than cash-pay D2C marketplace.
• Doctor on Demand: Insurance-covered telehealth provider offering urgent care, mental health, and chronic condition management. Overlaps with Sesame's urgent care and mental health service lines but operates in the insurance-paid model rather than cash-pay marketplace.
• MDLive: Insurance-covered telehealth platform providing urgent care, dermatology, and behavioral health visits. Competes with Sesame in multi-specialty telehealth but operates in the B2B/insurance-paid market rather than cash-pay D2C.

Emerging players

• Maven Clinic: Virtual care platform specializing in women's and family health — fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and pediatric care. Direct overlap with Sesame's fertility care program (especially the Costco/IVI RMA partnership) and women's health services, though focused exclusively on family health use cases.
• GoodRx: Healthcare consumer platform offering prescription price transparency and discount medications. Adjacent competitor sharing Sesame's price-transparency value proposition — GoodRx for prescriptions, Sesame for telehealth visits — and increasingly intersecting in the cash-pay, insurance-bypass segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sesamecare
• Facebookfacebook.com/sesamecare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sesamecare
• Instagraminstagram.com/sesamecare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors14 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sesame