What Surgo Foundation does

Surgo Foundation was founded in 2015 by Mala Gaonkar and Sema Sgaier as a privately funded action tank combining philanthropy, data science, and behavioral science to tackle stubborn health and social problems. In December 2020 the operational arm was re-housed in Surgo Ventures, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC with a UK hub in London; Surgo Foundation continues as the vehicle for Mala Gaonkar's personal philanthropy, and the two entities are operationally linked. Surgo develops and freely distributes a portfolio of precision public-health tools — most prominently the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index, the Maternal Vulnerability Index, the Causal AI platform, the CUBES behavioral framework, the COVID-19 Vaccine Persona Explainer, and the UK Mental Health Data Explorer — and applies them through programs in COVID-19 response, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, reproductive health, and community health workers.

The underlying technology stack combines structured demographic, health, and socioeconomic data with proprietary predictive models and a named Causal AI capability designed to move beyond outcome prediction to identify root causes and design targeted interventions; the CUBES framework provides the behavioral-science layer for designing behavior-change programs. Surgo does not commercialize its products: tools are provided at no cost to governments, policymakers, nonprofits, and social impact organizations, and the organization is funded through philanthropic grants and strategic partnerships with foundations, individuals, and corporate partners. Revenue mechanics are therefore grant-driven rather than transactional, and the go-to-market is a hybrid of self-serve public web tools and direct institutional partnerships with government agencies (e.g., CDC, Kentucky Department of Public Health, National Academies), global health NGOs (Clinton Health Access Initiative, Ariadne Labs, RAND), and corporate collaborators (Uber, Southern Bancorp), supported by core funders including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UK DFID.

Name

Surgo Foundation

Legal name

Surgo Ventures, Inc.

Website

https://surgofoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Surgo Ventures (operating alongside Surgo Foundation) is a nonprofit action tank that builds and freely distributes precision public-health tools — including vulnerability indices, a Causal AI platform, and the CUBES behavioral framework — for governments, NGOs, and social impact organizations tackling COVID-19, maternal health, tuberculosis, and mental health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Public Health Analytics

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships (HLAJAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Precision public health
• Behavioral science tools
• Health vulnerability indices
• Causal AI platform
• Nonprofit health analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding: As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Surgo Ventures is funded through strategic partnerships with nonprofits, investments and grants from private foundations, individuals, and corporate partners. Surgo Foundation continues as the primary vehicle for co-founder Mala Gaonkar's own philanthropic priorities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Surgo Ventures is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) action tank that integrates behavioral science, data science, and artificial intelligence to build precision public health tools. Its product portfolio includes the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index, Maternal Vulnerability Index, Causal AI platform, and the CUBES behavioral framework, which help governments, policymakers, nonprofits, and social impact organizations identify vulnerable communities and design targeted health interventions.

Product overview

Surgo Ventures offers a portfolio of precision health tools including the COVID-19 Tools suite (with COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index), the Causal AI platform, the CUBES behavioral framework, and the Maternal Vulnerability Index. These tools work together to provide data-driven insights for governments, policymakers, businesses, nonprofits, and social impact organizations to solve health and social challenges with precision.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COVID-19 Tools

Quantifiable outcome

• CDC adopted COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index as a resource for pandemic response
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Clinton Health Access InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership for expanding access to health interventions and programs, particularly in low-resource settings.
• Ariadne LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint development partner specializing in health systems innovation and scalable healthcare solutions.
• RAND CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for policy analysis and health systems research using Surgo's data tools.
• UbersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partnership supporting the Rides for Moms program providing transportation for pregnant patients in need.
• Founders PledgesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with organization of tech founders committed to effective philanthropy.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mathematica Policy Research: Nonprofit research and consulting firm that delivers data-driven evidence, program evaluation, and policy analysis to governments and foundations across health, human services, and international development — directly comparable to Surgo's action-tank advisory model for public-sector clients.
• Ariadne Labs: Joint health-system innovation center focused on scalable solutions to improve health care delivery — already a core Surgo co-development partner and one of the closest comparables to Surgo's action-tank model in applied public-health delivery science.
• Resolve to Save Lives: Global public-health nonprofit focused on data-driven, precision approaches to epidemic prevention and cardiovascular health — operates in the same data-driven public-health action-tank space, with comparable funding sources (philanthropy) and government institutional clients.
• Busara Center for Behavioral Economics: Research and advisory nonprofit applying behavioral science to global development and health challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries — comparable to Surgo's behavioral science work with community health workers in India and similar settings.
• Ideas42: Nonprofit that applies behavioral science to design scalable solutions for social problems in health, education, and economic well-being — directly comparable to Surgo's CUBES behavioral framework and behavioral-science-led intervention design work.

Broad incumbents

• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI): Global health organization that works with governments to strengthen health systems and expand access to care — listed as a Surgo strategic partner and a more established comparably scoped player in the same global health delivery space.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): Global research center at MIT running randomized evaluations to design and test anti-poverty and health interventions — operates in the same evidence-to-impact space as Surgo's Causal AI intervention testing approach, but at substantially larger scale.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Nonprofit research organization that designs and evaluates programs in health, education, and livelihoods using randomized evaluations — comparable to Surgo's evidence-generation approach in global development contexts.
• RAND Corporation: Large nonprofit research institution conducting policy analysis and data-driven research across health systems and global development — listed as a Surgo research partner and a broader incumbent operating in adjacent policy-research territory.

Emerging players

• Premise Data: Data and analytics platform providing hyperlocal, ground-truthed indicators used by governments and NGOs in health, development, and humanitarian response — comparable to Surgo's community vulnerability indexing and precision data approach, though more commercialized.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surgofoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Surgo Foundation