Upper

What Upper does

Upper (legal entity: Upper Health Inc.) is a Wilmington, North Carolina-based private healthcare company operating a virtual front door to a network of in-person clinics, delivering collaborative natural-first care plans. Founded in 2021 by Sara Auld, the company positions itself as the only large U.S. health system offering full-stack natural-first care spanning clinicians, diagnostics, naturopathic products, and specialty teams.

The core product is the Upper Health Platform, a care coordination operating system that connects patients to a curated network of independent providers including N-1 Primary Care, N-1 Urgent Care, diagnostics (labs, imaging, thermography), pharmacist consultations, naturopathic and homeopathic medicine, vitamins and supplements, and specialty care. Patient onboarding begins with a free Virtual Diagnostic-Like Test built on Typeform; a clinical team of physicians and nurses reviews the intake and produces a Custom Plan of Care. Upper then schedules 100% of patient appointments across the network in a single interaction, regardless of provider location. A dedicated Provider Portal supports the supplier side of the marketplace.

The business model is strictly self-pay with no insurance accepted. Care is sold as packages (Basic Care Plans being the productized form), with revenue model classified as subscription/recurring. Medical services are delivered through Upper Medicine P.A., a physician-owned professional medical practice, while Upper Health Inc. provides management, administrative, and technology services. Patient acquisition runs through organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn) feeding the free Typeform intake. Total disclosed funding is approximately $210,000 across two small rounds, headcount is 1–10, and a Mother+Baby Department is planned for 2027.

Name

Upper

Legal name

Upper Health Inc.

Website

https://upper.health

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Upper is a Wilmington, NC-based virtual healthcare platform that connects patients to a network of independent clinics for collaborative, self-pay natural-first care plans spanning primary care, urgent care, diagnostics, naturopathic medicine, and pharmacy services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural and Integrative Healthcare Services

NAICS

Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) (621111)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Care & General Medicine Virtual Care (HLALAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Virtual-First Primary + Urgent Hybrid Platforms (HLALAJAM), Membership/Subscription Concierge Virtual Care (HLALAAAH)

Keywords

• Natural healthcare services
• Naturopathic medicine
• Virtual care platform
• Primary care services
• Diagnostic testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Self-Pay Care Packages: All care is provided in the form of packages. Patients pay upfront for comprehensive care plans that include virtual assessments, primary care, diagnostics, pharmacist consultations, naturopathic medicine, and specialty care. No insurance accepted - strictly self-pay model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Upper operates a virtual healthcare platform that serves as the front door to a network of in-person clinics, delivering collaborative natural-first care plans. Patients begin with a free Virtual Diagnostic-Like Test (Typeform-based intake) and receive a Custom Plan of Care covering primary care, urgent care, diagnostics, pharmacist consultations, naturopathic/homeopathic medicine, and specialty care — all delivered through self-pay care packages with appointments scheduled centrally by Upper.

Product overview

Upper is a virtual healthcare platform offering collaborative natural-first care through an integrated operating system. The core Upper Health Platform connects patients to a network of independent providers including N-1 Primary Care and N-1 Urgent Care services, diagnostic capabilities (Labs, Imaging, Thermography), pharmacist consultations, and naturopathic/homeopathic medicine with supplements. Patients access care through a free Virtual Diagnostic-Like Test intake, receiving customized care plans with all appointments scheduled by Upper. The platform operates Basic Care Plans as purchasable packages and is developing a Mother+Baby Department launching in 2027. Medical services are delivered by Upper Medicine P.A. through a provider network accessible via the Provider Portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Upper Health Platform Virtual front door to a network of in-real-life clinics offering collaborative natural-first care plans for every health condition. A full-stack health system providing care from clinicians to diagnostics to naturopathic products and specialty teams with unlimited capability.
• Basic Care Plans Self-pay care packages offered to patients providing collaborative natural-first medical care services. All care at Upper is delivered through these packages.
• Virtual Diagnostic-Like Test (Intake) Free virtual diagnostic intake test that serves as the initial patient assessment, reviewed by the clinical team of physicians and nurses to develop a Custom Plan of Care.
• N-1 Primary Care Primary care service delivered within Upper's collaborative natural-first care model.
• N-1 Urgent Care Urgent care service delivered within Upper's collaborative natural-first care model.
• Diagnostics (Labs, Imaging, Thermography) Diagnostic services including laboratory tests, imaging, and thermography offered through Upper's platform and partner network.
• Pharmacist Consultations + Recommendations Consultation services with pharmacists plus recommendations, including access to traditional pharmacy and prescriptions with shipping and same-day pickup available.
• Naturopathic + Homeopathic Medicine; Vitamins + Supplements Natural medicine offerings including naturopathic and homeopathic treatments plus vitamins and supplements, with shipping and same-day pickup at store partner locations.
• Home Environmental Assessments & Plans Assessment and planning service for home environmental factors affecting patient health.
• Provider Portal Portal for healthcare providers to register, login, manage orders and referrals, and request staff on-site within the Upper network.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Upper Medicine P.A.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhysician-owned professional medical practice that provides all medical services. Upper Health Inc. provides management, administrative, and technology services to this practice and its provider network. Medical decisions remain independent and are not controlled by Upper.
• Independent Provider NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of independent sellers including clinics, labs, imaging centers, pharmacies, and specialty providers. Partners share pre-existing and qualified aligned values in care, services, and products. They collaboratively provide care to Upper patients via Upper's operating system.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Forward: Forward is a tech-enabled preventive primary care membership practice offering diagnostics, care plans, and ongoing monitoring — similar to Upper's N-1 Primary Care + diagnostics + ongoing care plan concept, though broader in scope.
• Maven Clinic: Maven Clinic is a virtual care platform for women's health, fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum — closely comparable to Upper's planned 2027 Mother+Baby Department offering midwife-supervised women's health and homebirth.
• SteadyMD: SteadyMD provides a technology and clinician network for virtual primary and urgent care, including partnerships with brands and providers — comparable to Upper's role as a coordination layer across an independent provider network.
• ConciergeMD / Integrative Concierge Practices: ConciergeMD and similar boutique concierge practices offer cash-pay integrative and naturopathic primary care — overlapping with Upper's natural-first, self-pay, package-based concierge model at smaller scale.

Direct peers

• Viome: Viome sells direct-to-consumer gut-microbiome diagnostics with personalized supplement and nutrition recommendations — directly comparable to Upper's diagnostics-plus-natural-supplements care pathway.
• Parsley Health: Parsley Health is a direct-to-consumer membership-based primary care practice focused on integrative and functional medicine with a virtual + in-person model and self-pay packages — closely mirroring Upper's natural-first, cash-pay, multi-modality approach.
• Sesame: Sesame is a cash-pay telehealth and in-person marketplace connecting patients directly to providers with upfront pricing — comparable to Upper's no-insurance, package-based, direct-to-consumer care delivery model.
• Tia: Tia operates a virtual-and-in-person women's health platform with a membership/care-package model and is expanding into additional verticals — directly comparable to Upper's planned Mother+Baby Department and care-coordination OS approach.

Broad incumbents

• One Medical (Amazon One Medical): Amazon One Medical is a tech-enabled primary care platform combining virtual and in-person care with membership-based access — a broad incumbent in the virtual-primary-care-plus-diagnostics space where Upper also operates.
• Hims & Hers: Hims & Hers is a large direct-to-consumer telehealth platform offering consultations, prescriptions, and supplements with cash-pay packages — a broad incumbent operating the same DTC cash-pay virtual care playbook at much greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ontheupper
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upperhealth
• Instagraminstagram.com/upper.health
• Xx.com/upperhealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

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 Upper