Watsi

What Watsi does

Watsi is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform founded in 2010 (with US incorporation referenced in 2012) that connects individual donors directly to patients in low-income countries who need surgical care. Donors can give as little as $5 to fund specific patient profiles vetted through Watsi's network of medical partners in countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with 100% of public donations directed to healthcare because Watsi absorbs all credit card processing fees itself. The core platform supports a direct-to-patient crowdfunding flow, a Universal Fund monthly recurring donation program, gift cards, donor-led campaigns tied to personal events, and cryptocurrency donations across BTC, ETH, XLM, USDC, SOL, and DOGE.

The organization's technology stack is web-based and includes patient profile management, donation processing via Stripe and PayPal, automated email updates after treatment, and integration with medical partners. Watsi also built Meso, a health insurance administration platform that was spun out as an independent open-source project at meso.health. Operating expenses are covered separately by foundations, philanthropists, and The Collective, a community of donors committing 3-year unrestricted funding to support the team and operations. Watsi maintains a fully remote team of roughly 8 core staff spanning 6 time zones, supplemented by board members and advisors.

Watsi's commercial model is donation-driven rather than revenue-driven. Primary customer segments are individual donors (direct crowdfunding, monthly recurring, and campaign-based giving), corporate partners seeking employee engagement and CSR programs, philanthropic investors in The Collective providing multi-year unrestricted commitments, and medical partners who receive guaranteed funding for patient care. Pricing tiers for donors start at $5 with preset amounts of $20, $60, $120, and $250, and monthly giving preset at $25 or $29. A separate General Fund tier starts at $5,000 for unrestricted allocation to highest-need patients. Since inception, Watsi has funded more than 34,000 surgeries across 34-36 countries, raising approximately $21.4M cumulatively, with a Charity Navigator 4-star rating and 84% of 2025 expenses directed to programs.

Name

Watsi

Legal name

Watsi, Inc.

Website

https://watsi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Watsi is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit crowdfunding platform that channels individual donations starting at $5 directly to surgical care for patients in low-income countries, serving 34,000+ patients across 36 countries via vetted medical partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Crowdfunding

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Financing, Budgeting & Grants Management (HLAJAMAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Health Financing Mechanisms (HLAJAKAC)

Keywords

• Medical crowdfunding
• Healthcare donations
• Nonprofit platform
• Patient funding
• Global health financing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Programs (patient healthcare payouts), Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Public donations fund 100% of patient healthcare costs. Operating expenses are covered separately by foundations, philanthropists, and supporters who contribute extra.
2. The Collective (Multi-year Unrestricted Funding): 3-year minimum commitment of unrestricted giving from individuals, families, and foundations to support team, strategy, and operations.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Companies partner with Watsi for employee engagement, customer recognition, and corporate giving campaigns with personalized giving pages.
4. Cryptocurrency Donations: Accepts Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Stellar Lumens (XLM), USD Coin (USDC), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE). All crypto donations are unrestricted.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Watsi operates a direct-to-consumer medical crowdfunding platform that enables individual donors to fund specific surgical treatments for patients in low-income countries, with donations starting at $5. The platform connects donors to vetted medical partners that deliver the care, and 100% of public donations are directed to patient healthcare while Watsi absorbs all payment processing fees. Supplementary products include monthly recurring donations (Universal Fund), gift cards, donor-led campaigns, and cryptocurrency giving.

Product overview

Watsi is a nonprofit crowdfunding platform for healthcare that operates as a unified ecosystem connecting donors directly with patients needing surgical care. The core Watsi Crowdfunding Platform enables donors to fund individual patient treatments, supported by the Universal Fund for recurring monthly giving. Supplementary offerings include Gift Cards for gifting healthcare, Donor Campaigns for event-based fundraising, Crypto Donations for cryptocurrency contributions, and an Emergency Surgery Fund for urgent care needs. Watsi also developed Meso, a health insurance administration technology platform that is now an independent open source project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Meso: Watsi built a technology platform for health insurance administration called Meso that aims to reduce costs and streamline processes. This is now an independent open source project.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,379 patients received life-changing surgery
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hope Health ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025New partnership launched in 2025 in Northern Uganda's West Nile region, expanding access to care for families facing conflict and barriers to treatment.
• MusocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Re-launched partnership in 2025 in Mali, expanding access to care in regions facing conflict and barriers to timely treatment.
• African Mission HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary medical partner network providing surgical care to underserved populations in low-income countries. African Mission Healthcare submits patient profiles and provides treatment, with Watsi donors funding care.
• Children's Surgical Centre (CSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner in Cambodia providing surgical care including burn treatments, cataract surgery, and orthopedic procedures. CSC submits patient profiles and delivers care funded by Watsi donors.
• Burma Children Medical FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner serving patients along the Thailand-Burma border and in Burma, providing care for refugees and displaced populations.
• Partners in Hope Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner in Malawi providing surgical care including hernia repairs and other procedures. Part of African Mission Healthcare network.
• AIC CURE HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric orthopedic hospital in Kenya specializing in clubfoot, equinus deformity, and other musculoskeletal conditions. Part of African Mission Healthcare network.
• Nkhoma HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHospital in Malawi providing surgical care including prostatectomies. Part of African Mission Healthcare network.
• BethanyKids Kijabe HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized pediatric care hospital in Kenya providing surgeries including hydrocephalus treatment. Part of African Mission Healthcare network.
• Clinica NoelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner in Colombia providing care for pediatric dental conditions and other treatments.
• International Cardiac AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner providing cardiac surgeries for patients including pediatric heart procedures.
• World Surgical Foundation PhilippinescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical partner in the Philippines providing surgical care including cholecystectomy and other procedures.
• Stellar Development FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership aligned around inclusive access to basic human needs. Watsi participated in Stellar's launch and has held lumens since 2014.
• LumenthropyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCryptocurrency philanthropy initiative aligned with Watsi's mission to provide healthcare access.
• zoomrxminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHealthcare technology company partnering with Watsi for corporate engagement.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GiveDirectly: Nonprofit that sends cash transfers directly to people in extreme poverty in low-income countries. Comparable to Watsi in its direct-donor-to-recipient value proposition, radical transparency, and tech-forward operational model (including heavy YC/investor ecosystem overlap).
• Kiva: Crowdfunding platform enabling individuals to make small loans to borrowers in developing countries. Operates the same micro-donation, direct-impact, transparent donor matching model as Watsi, scaled across geographies with significant brand recognition.
• GlobalGiving: Crowdfunding marketplace for nonprofits worldwide, connecting donors to vetted grassroots charitable projects. Directly comparable to Watsi as a digital donation platform aggregating many local projects under a transparency-focused umbrella.
• charity: water: Nonprofit crowdfunding platform funding clean water infrastructure in developing countries, with radical transparency and 100% donation-to-program models — the closest analog to Watsi's direct-donor-to-recipient impact narrative and transparency-first positioning.
• DonorsChoose: Nonprofit crowdfunding platform connecting individual donors directly to classroom project requests. Shares Watsi's core operating model — donor picks specific recipient, receives updates after fulfillment, with full transparency on fund use.

Broad incumbents

• GoFundMe: The dominant general-purpose crowdfunding platform with a charity vertical. Competes for the same donor attention and recurring-giving dollar, though without Watsi's curated, vertically specialized medical mission or 100%-model guarantee.
• Direct Relief: Large humanitarian medical aid organization providing medical supplies and funding globally. Overlaps with Watsi on global health access mission and medical partner network ecosystem, though at much larger scale and with institutional rather than crowdfunding funding model.
• Partners In Health: Major global health nonprofit delivering direct healthcare services in low-income countries, often via partner hospital networks in the same geographies Watsi serves. Comparable medical-partner ecosystem and global-health access mission, with deeper clinical delivery capability.

Others

• Mercy Ships: Operates hospital ships delivering free surgical care in low-income countries. Operates in the same vertical of cross-border surgical care delivery for the poor, with comparable donor base and impact storytelling, but a different delivery model (ship-based rather than partner-clinic funded).

Emerging players

• Smile Train: Global nonprofit funding cleft palate surgeries in developing countries via a partner-clinic model. Operates in the same vertical of low-cost, high-impact surgical care funding in low-income countries as Watsi, with comparable partner-network and per-surgery economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/watsi
• Facebookfacebook.com/Watsi.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/watsi
• Instagraminstagram.com/watsi

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 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 Watsi