Kura Care

What Kura Care does

Kura Care is a private digital health company founded in 2018 by KJ Yang in San Diego, California, with additional operations in Taiwan. The company develops and commercializes an AI-powered patient engagement platform called the Patient Engagement Layer (PEL), which delivers hyper-personalized cardiac behavior change coaching to post-acute cardiovascular patients (CHF, CKD, stroke, hypertension) via SMS without requiring an app download. PEL is powered by a proprietary AI engine called MOTUS that generates and continuously adapts care plans based on patient health data, activity levels, and interaction preferences.

The product suite includes PEL as the core platform, MOTUS as the AI add-on module, PEL Tools (Smart Greetings, SMS Nudges, Personalized Patient Reports, Goals, Content, Gamification, Dynamic Timeline), and PEL Motion (in development) as a digital companion for post-acute recovery. The platform integrates with Apple HealthKit and remote patient monitoring infrastructure, with clinical outcomes validated in a 15-month randomized controlled trial of 43 patients at UC San Diego Health — published in the American Heart Association's Circulation journal — showing 27% reduction in cardiac-renal readmissions, 3.68 METs average exercise capacity increase, 11.4 mmHg systolic blood pressure reduction, and 2X daily step count increase.

Kura Care sells on a SaaS subscription basis to hospitals, clinics, RPM companies, chronic care management organizations, and risk-based providers and payers, with quote-based enterprise pricing and multi-year contracts. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales, OEM/embedded integration with existing RPM platforms, and ecosystem partnerships (AstraZeneca i2.JP in Japan, Smart Meter in the US, Garage+ incubator, LINK-J network). The company is HIPAA-, CCPA-, and COPPA-compliant, with 11-50 employees and no publicly disclosed funding to date.

Name

Kura Care

Legal name

KURA Care Inc.

Website

https://kuracare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kura Care is a San Diego-based digital health company offering PEL, an AI-powered SMS-based patient engagement platform that delivers personalized cardiac behavior change coaching to post-acute cardiovascular patients, sold to hospitals, RPM companies, and risk-bearing providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Health Patient Engagement Software

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Medication Adherence, Digital Therapeutics & Remote Coaching (condition-specific programs) (HLALAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chronic Care & Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Platforms (HLALABAF), Patient App, Adherence & Engagement for RPM Programs (HLACAFAJ), Cardiology Telemedicine Platforms (HLALAGAB)

Keywords

• Patient engagement software
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Digital health platform
• Behavior change coaching
• Remote patient monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (PEL Platform): PEL is licensed to healthcare organizations (hospitals, clinics, RPM companies) on a subscription basis. The software integrates with existing RPM platforms as a plugin, with pricing likely based on patient enrollment or tiered by features/volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Kura Care sells the Patient Engagement Layer (PEL), an AI-powered digital health SaaS platform that delivers hyper-personalized cardiac behavior change coaching to post-acute cardiovascular patients via SMS—no app download required. The platform layers onto existing remote patient monitoring programs used by hospitals, clinics, RPM companies, and payers to reduce cardiac readmissions and improve physical activity adherence.

Product overview

KURA Care offers a modular AI-powered patient engagement platform centered on the Patient Engagement Layer (PEL). PEL is the core product — an AI-powered digital health platform that delivers hyper-personalized cardiac behavior change coaching via SMS without requiring app installation. The platform is augmented by MOTUS, the proprietary AI engine that generates and continuously adapts patient care plans, and a suite of PEL Tools (Smart Greetings, SMS Nudges, Personalized Patient Reports, Goals, Content, Gamification, Dynamic Timeline). PEL integrates with existing remote patient monitoring programs and devices, including Apple HealthKit, to collect vital data and provide data-driven insights to care teams. The company also offers whitepapers on transforming remote monitoring into patient empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PEL (Patient Engagement Layer): AI-powered digital health platform delivering hyper-personalized cardiac behavior change coaching to post-acute cardiovascular patients via SMS — no app required.
• MOTUS
• PEL Motion

Products and services

• Patient Engagement Layer (PEL) AI-powered digital health SaaS platform delivering hyper-personalized cardiac behavior change coaching to post-acute cardiovascular patients via SMS without requiring an app download. PEL adapts continuously to each patient's health data, activity level, and interaction preferences, and is licensed to hospitals, clinics, RPM companies, and payers.
• MOTUS Artificial Intelligence Proprietary AI engine that generates and continuously adapts hyper-personalized patient care plans based on health data analysis, behavior patterns, and interaction preferences. Powers personalized goal-setting and empathetic SMS coaching within PEL, with generative AI, recommendation engine, and predictive analytics capabilities.
• PEL Tools Suite Suite of patient engagement tools including Smart Greetings, SMS Nudges, Personalized Patient Reports (PPR), Goals, Content, Gamification, and Dynamic Timeline. Designed to improve adherence and compliance in remote monitoring programs through disease-specific 6-month programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 27% reduction in cardiac-renal readmissions
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

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

• Smart MetercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2025Collaboration to improve blood pressure management for over 119 million Americans with hypertension. Combines Smart Meter's blood pressure monitoring technology with Kura Care's AI-powered patient engagement platform to enhance treatment adherence and outcomes.
• AstraZeneca i2.JP (Innovation Infusion Japan)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2025Participation in AstraZeneca's healthcare open innovation network in Japan, which includes 500+ startups, healthcare providers, research institutions, and companies. Strategic partnership for Japan market entry and collaboration on preventive healthcare AI platform.
• UC San Diego HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 202415-month clinical study partnership at UC San Diego Health focused on CHF and heart surgery patients. Lead investigator Dr. Pam Taub, Director of Step Family Foundation Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. Study enrolled 43 patients demonstrating clinically significant outcomes published in AHA journal.
• Garage+ (Global Entrepreneur Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsian startup incubator supporting Kura Care's international expansion. Garage+ is an Asia-based global incubator that supports startups in entering international markets and building partnerships.
• LINK-J (Life Sciences Innovation Network Japan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJapanese life sciences innovation network that awarded Kura Care the AWA 2021 Life Sciences Award. Provides collaboration opportunities and industry recognition for market entry in Japan.
• Dr. Paul J. MillscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member and Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego. Director of Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health. 30+ years of NIH/NHLBI grants focusing on CHF patient outcomes. Provides clinical research guidance and academic credibility.
• Dr. Garry ChoyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member. Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at UnitedHealth Group, formerly CMO at Q Bio. Stanford MBA, Columbia engineering degrees. Expertise in clinical transformation, advanced analytics, and preventive medicine at scale.
• Jason C. WangminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member. Stanford LCY TL Lee Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, entrepreneur. Focused on improving health services and outcomes for all patients.
• John RydzewskiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member. Private investor and advisor to healthcare companies. Former investment banker at Solomon Partners, Kidder Peabody providing advisory services for healthcare and life science companies. Founded pre-clinical biotech company with MIT/Harvard licensed technology.
• Andy Huai-Ping ChenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisory board member. Physician turned M&A and investment professional passionate about improving healthcare. MD MBA background bridging clinical and financial expertise.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vivify Health: Direct-to-direct competitor offering a cloud-based RPM and virtual care platform for chronic condition management delivered to health systems and payers, with similar patient engagement tooling and chronic care focus.
• Health Recovery Solutions (HRS): Direct peer providing an RPM and patient engagement platform used by hospitals and home health agencies for chronic disease management, including cardiac populations, with a kit-based device + software model.
• Biofourmis: AI-driven RPM and digital therapeutics platform focused on chronic and post-acute care, including heart failure — competes in the same AI-personalization, RPM-integration space as Kura Care.
• Optimize Health (formerly Smart Meter LLC): RPM platform partner/competitor focused on hypertension and chronic conditions with cellular-connected devices and patient engagement tools; directly comparable in target patient population and provider GTM.
• Sweetch: AI-driven digital therapeutic platform providing hyper-personalized coaching for chronic disease management (similar AI-personalization ethos to MOTUS), overlapping in the chronic-condition behavior-change category.
• Lark Health: AI-powered virtual chronic care management platform using conversational AI for coaching across cardiovascular, diabetes, and prevention — closely aligned on AI personalization and chronic care coaching model.
• SeamlessMD: Digital care journey platform for surgical and post-acute patients including cardiac surgery, with patient engagement and adherence features comparable to Kura Care's PEL product.

Broad incumbents

• Omada Health: Established digital therapeutic company offering AI-driven behavior change coaching for chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, MSK) — broader portfolio but overlapping AI-personalized coaching model and B2B payer/provider sales motion.

Emerging players

• Wellbe (Connected Care Solutions): Patient engagement and care navigation platform with modules for cardiac and surgical episodes, overlapping in post-acute patient journey engagement and digital care plans.

Regional players

• MTI Technology (Japan): Japanese health tech company with cardiac and chronic care remote monitoring offerings — relevant comparable for Kura Care's Japan market expansion via the i2.JP partnership, though operating primarily in Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Kura_Care
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@KURACare
• Facebookfacebook.com/kuracare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kuracare

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Kura Care