Laerdal Million Lives Fund

What Laerdal Million Lives Fund does

Laerdal Million Lives Fund is a $100 million corporate venture capital vehicle established in 2020 and headquartered in San Francisco, operating as the investment arm of Norway-based Laerdal Group. The fund targets commercial-stage healthcare technology companies whose products can demonstrate measurable mortality reduction, with a stated goal of contributing to Laerdal's broader mission of helping save one million lives annually by 2030. Its 14-plus portfolio companies span four overlapping verticals: emergency-response infrastructure (Avive's connected AEDs, RapidSOS's emergency data platform covering 5,200+ emergency communications centers and 400M+ connected devices, Tele911's EMS telemedicine), digital care delivery (Boulder Care for substance use disorder, Aloe Care Health for elder care, UCM Digital Health for virtual urgent care, Reliance Health's digital insurance in Nigeria and Egypt), AI-enabled diagnostics (MobileODT's VisualPap cervical-cancer screening using computer vision), and hardware-intensive therapeutics (Sovato's remote robotic surgery platform, Pharaoh Neuro's closed-loop CSF management, CorFlow's cardiac care, CardioSense's heart-failure monitoring, NovoCuff's preterm-birth device).

The fund deploys capital through direct equity participation in Series A and later rounds, typically as a co-investor alongside specialized healthcare and growth investors such as Insight Partners, General Atlantic, Beringea, Arboretum Ventures, and Questa Capital. It does not develop proprietary technology; rather, it selects and supports portfolio companies that leverage AI/ML for medical imaging and clinical decision support, connected-device platforms for emergency response, telemedicine, and remote robotic-surgery systems. Distribution advantage is anchored in the Laerdal Group's global healthcare-training footprint, and deal flow is reinforced by venture advisors including Tory Patterson (Owl Ventures) and Trond Riiber Knudsen (TRK Group), alongside global-health advisors Chelsea Clinton (Clinton Foundation) and Andrew Farnum (formerly Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund).

Economically, the fund generates returns through capital appreciation and exits of portfolio companies; it is privately held by Laerdal Group, reports no standalone revenue, and operates with a four-person investment team (Managing Partner Jeff Trost, Partner Becca Shmukler, and Principals Jacob Johnson and Rhiya Pau) sourced from Rock Health, Accenture, GCA Corporation, and CDC Group. Cross-portfolio integration is increasingly visible, most notably the Avive–RapidSOS cardiac-arrest-response partnership and Honeywell's strategic investment into RapidSOS, suggesting the fund's thesis is evolving from a collection of independent bets toward a coordinated emergency-care and connected-health ecosystem.

Name

Laerdal Million Lives Fund

Legal name

Laerdal Million Lives Fund

Website

https://laerdalmillionlives.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Laerdal Million Lives Fund is a $100 million corporate venture capital arm of Laerdal Group, founded in 2020 in San Francisco to invest in commercial-stage healthcare technology companies with measurable mortality-reduction potential, backing a 14-company portfolio spanning emergency response, digital care, AI diagnostics, and medical devices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Venture Capital

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Access & Life Sciences Impact Funds (FSANAJAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Healthcare technology investments
• Life-saving medical technologies
• Digital health investing
• Impact investment fund

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management and Investment Returns: The Laerdal Million Lives Fund generates returns through equity investments in healthcare technology startups. As a venture capital fund, returns come from capital appreciation and exits via acquisitions or IPOs of portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Laerdal Million Lives Fund is a $100 million venture capital fund that invests in commercial-stage healthcare technology companies developing disruptive, data-driven, life-saving technologies. The fund provides equity capital, strategic guidance, and access to the Laerdal Group's global healthcare network to portfolio companies spanning emergency response, digital health, medical devices, AI diagnostics, robotic surgery, and substance use disorder treatment, with the stated mission of helping save one million lives annually by 2030.

Product overview

Laerdal Million Lives Fund is a $100 million venture capital fund that invests in commercial-stage healthcare technology companies developing disruptive, data-driven technologies to enable the right care at the right time. The fund does not offer its own unified product; rather, it provides investment capital to a portfolio of 14 healthcare technology companies. The portfolio spans emergency response technologies (Avive Solutions connected AED platform, RapidSOS emergency data platform, Tele911 EMS telemedicine), digital health services (Boulder Care substance use disorder treatment, Aloe Care remote caregiving, UCM Digital Health urgent care access), medical devices (Pharaoh Neuro cerebrospinal fluid management, NovoCuff preterm birth treatment, CorFlow cardiac care), AI-enabled diagnostics (MobileODT VisualPap cervical cancer screening), remote surgery (Sovato robotic surgery platform), health insurance (Reliance Health emerging markets), and clinical education (AMO Opportunities). The fund's investment thesis focuses on companies whose solutions can reduce preventable deaths through early intervention, proactive care, and improved clinical decision-making.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 4-Minute City Program: Avive's 4-Minute City Program aims to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates through strategic deployment of connected AEDs and community training.

Products and services

• Laerdal Million Lives Fund A $100 million venture capital fund that invests equity capital in commercial-stage healthcare technology companies developing disruptive, data-driven, life-saving technologies, providing portfolio companies with capital, strategic guidance, and access to the Laerdal Group's global healthcare network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Goal to help save 1 million lives annually by 2030
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered strategic ecosystem and core.

• Honeywellstrategic ecosystemStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2022Portfolio company RapidSOS secured a strategic investment from Honeywell to better link buildings to public safety systems through integration of Honeywell's Connected Life Safety System with the RapidSOS emergency response data platform.
• Avive and RapidSOS Partnershipstrategic ecosystemStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2021Portfolio companies Avive Solutions and RapidSOS formed a strategic partnership to improve cardiac arrest response by integrating Avive's connected AEDs with RapidSOS's emergency response data platform for dispatch and incident data sharing.
• Laerdal GroupcoreOthersThe Laerdal Million Lives Fund is supported by and affiliated with the Laerdal group, a global organization dedicated to helping save lives. Laerdal supports the fund's investments in enabling technologies and digital solutions that drive early interventions with high life-saving potential.
• Venture AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe fund works with a network of venture advisors including Tory Patterson (Owl Ventures), Trond Riiber Knudsen (TRK Group), and others who provide strategic guidance and deal flow support.
• Global Health AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe fund is advised by global health experts including Chelsea Clinton (Clinton Foundation, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Metrodora) and Andrew Farnum (former Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund, now CEO of Variant Bio).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• General Atlantic: Global growth equity firm with significant healthcare exposure. Co-investor alongside LMLF in Reliance Health's $40M Series B.
• GV (Google Ventures): Multi-stage venture arm with substantial healthcare and life sciences portfolio. Comparable as a strategic venture investor though with vastly broader investment scope.
• Insight Partners: Large growth-stage investor; led RapidSOS's $85M Series C alongside LMLF's prior investment, demonstrating deal-level overlap in healthcare infrastructure plays.
• Andreessen Horowitz (Bio + Health Fund): Large multi-stage VC with a dedicated bio/health fund. Broad incumbent competitor for healthcare deals, though operates across much larger AUM and broader thesis.
• Khosla Ventures: Large venture firm with significant healthcare and impact investing practice. Overlaps with LMLF's mission-driven life sciences focus but at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• OrbiMed Advisors: Healthcare-dedicated investment firm across stages. Highly comparable given LMLF's healthcare-only thesis; OrbiMed led MobileODT's Series B in which LMLF participated, demonstrating syndicate overlap.
• Obvious Ventures: Mission-driven venture firm investing in world-positive companies including healthcare. Comparable as an impact-oriented VC with similar thesis of pairing financial returns with measurable social/environmental outcomes.
• Rock Health: Digital health venture capital firm and accelerator; directly comparable as a specialized healthcare VC where two of LMLF's partners previously worked. Both focus on commercial-stage healthtech with mission-driven DNA.
• Acumen: Impact investment fund focused on life-saving healthcare and emerging markets. Closest peer in mission orientation, particularly on African health investments where LMLF partner Rhiya Pau has prior CDC Group experience.

Emerging players

• Healthy Ventures: Early-stage digital health VC. Comparable as a specialized, emerging healthcare VC with similar focus on commercial-stage healthtech, though smaller AUM and narrower stage focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/laerdalfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments18 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Laerdal Million Lives Fund