Surgo Ventures
Surgo Ventures is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) action tank that applies behavioral science, data science, and causal AI to build hyper-local vulnerability indices and behavioral frameworks used by governments, foundations, and NGOs for precision public health decision-making.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Surgo Ventures does
Surgo Ventures is a Washington, DC-headquartered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in December 2020, spun out of the 2015-founded Surgo Foundation, with an additional hub in the United Kingdom. The organization describes itself as an "action tank" that applies behavioral science, data science, and artificial intelligence to solve health and social problems. Its core product portfolio consists of hyper-local vulnerability indices — the U.S. COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI), the Africa CCVI covering 751 regions across 48 countries, and the U.S. Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI) covering 43+ indicators across 6 themes — alongside the Causal AI platform (causal inference rather than predictive correlation), the CUBES behavioral science framework, a Vaccine Allocation Planner co-developed with Ariadne Labs, and digital/field solutions including the askNivi chatbot in India and the Rides for Moms program with Uber.
Surgo's customers and partners span federal agencies (U.S. CDC), advisory bodies (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine), state and local public health departments (Kentucky DPH, Pima County), national statistics bureaus (Nigerian NBS), municipal governments (Greater Chennai Corporation), foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Vanguard Charitable, Founders Pledge), NGOs (Clinton Health Access Initiative, Ariadne Labs, Nurse-Family Partnership, Vitamin Angels), and corporate partners (Uber, Southern Bancorp). Its segments are organized horizontally across governments, policymakers, nonprofits/social impact organizations, and businesses, with primary focus on precision public health, vulnerability mapping, and behavioral intervention design.
The business model is nonprofit philanthropy and grant-based: Surgo Ventures receives investments and grants from private foundations, individuals, and corporate partners, with no disclosed commercial pricing or product fees. Distribution is primarily direct engagement with institutional partners, supplemented by open-source self-serve availability of its indices. Earned media in NYT, Atlantic, Bloomberg, Politico, and FT supports reputational reach. The organization is governed by a board that includes Malcolm Gladwell, Bill Helman IV, and Peter Piot, and is led by co-founder and CEO Sema Sgaier and co-founder Mala Gaonkar.
Surgo Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Surgo Ventures
- Legal name
- Surgo Ventures, Inc.
- Website
- https://surgoventures.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Surgo Ventures is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) action tank that applies behavioral science, data science, and causal AI to build hyper-local vulnerability indices and behavioral frameworks used by governments, foundations, and NGOs for precision public health decision-making.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Surgo Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Health Analytics
- NAICS
- Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships (HLAJAOAG), Immunization & Vaccine Access Partnerships (Global Vaccine Alliances) (HLAJAOAF), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)
Keywords
Where Surgo Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Surgo Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Foundation Grants and Philanthropic Funding: As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Surgo Ventures is funded through strategic partnerships with other nonprofits and global health policy stakeholders, as well as investments and grants from private foundations, individuals, and corporate partners. Founded by Mala Gaonkar's philanthropy with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation support for specific initiatives like the Maternal Vulnerability Index.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Surgo Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Surgo Ventures is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) action tank that builds and deploys data-driven software tools and research products combining behavioral science, data science, and AI to solve health and social problems. Its portfolio includes the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI), the U.S. Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI), the Causal AI platform, the CUBES behavioral framework, the Vaccine Allocation Planner, and direct-to-consumer digital solutions such as the askNivi chatbot and Rides for Moms transportation program. These tools are delivered to governments, policymakers, nonprofits, and global health organizations through direct engagement, partnerships, and open-source platforms.
Product overview
Surgo Ventures is a nonprofit action tank that offers a portfolio of data-driven tools for governments, policymakers, businesses, nonprofits, and social impact organizations. The core offering consists of three flagship tools: COVID-19 Tools (including the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index and Vaccine Allocation Planner), CUBES (a behavioral science framework), and Causal AI (a causal inference AI platform). These are complemented by specialized indices including the U.S. Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI) and the Africa COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index. The portfolio also includes digital solutions such as the askNivi chatbot and the Rides for Moms transportation program. Together, these products leverage behavioral science, data science, and artificial intelligence to deliver hyper-local, precision insights for health and social problem-solving.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI): The first county-level, national-scale, open-source tool to identify where and why mothers in the U.S. are vulnerable to poor health outcomes. Explores 43 indicators across 6 themes: reproductive, physical health, mental health and substance use, general health care, socioeconomic determinants, and environmental factors.
- COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI)
- CUBES
- Causal AI
- Africa COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index
- Vaccine Allocation Planner for COVID-19
Products and services
- COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI) A modular, hyper-local index at the state, county, and census-tract level that assesses community vulnerability to COVID-19's health, social, and economic impacts, used by the CDC and National Academies for vaccine allocation.
- Africa COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (Africa CCVI) The only index measuring COVID-19 vulnerability at subnational level across the African continent, ranking 751 regions across 48 African countries based on seven key vulnerability themes.
- Vaccine Allocation Planner for COVID-19 A simulation tool developed with Ariadne Labs based on National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine criteria, providing state and county decision makers localized data on vaccine doses, priority populations, and vulnerable communities to plan equitable vaccine distribution.
- U.S. Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI) The first county-level, national-scale, open-source tool to identify where and why mothers in the U.S. are vulnerable to poor maternal health outcomes, exploring 43 indicators across 6 themes including reproductive healthcare, physical health, mental health, general healthcare, socioeconomic determinants, and physical environment.
- CUBES
Quantifiable outcome
- People in vulnerable communities are 2x as likely to have died from COVID-19 as those in non-vulnerable communities
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Surgo Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Surgo Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
Surgo Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.
- Ariadne LabscoreJointly developed the Vaccine Allocation Planner for COVID-19, a simulation tool for equitable vaccine distribution based on NASEM framework.
- Clinton Health Access InitiativecoreLong-standing partner in TB care-seeking research and family planning programs in India. Co-conducted large-scale studies and deployed analytical tools including segmentation and causal AI.
- UberkeyRide-sharing partner in Rides for Moms program providing free transportation to prenatal appointments for pregnant women in Washington, D.C.
- Greater Chennai CorporationkeyGovernment partner for TB care-seeking study in Chennai, India, providing access and collaboration for the 85,000 household assessment.
- RAND CorporationminorListed as partner organization with potential for research collaboration.
- Community of HopekeyFederally qualified health center partner in Rides for Moms program, providing prenatal care and receiving transportation support for clients.
- Mary's CenterkeyFederally qualified health center partner in Rides for Moms program, providing prenatal care and receiving transportation support for clients.
- NivikeyPartnered with askNivi chatbot platform to provide family planning information to couples in rural India through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
- Nurse-Family PartnershipkeyUsing Maternal Vulnerability Index to evaluate programs and identify additional areas that may benefit from NFP services for high-risk families.
- Vitamin AngelskeyUsing MVI to identify and prioritize communities vulnerable to poor maternal health outcomes for prenatal multivitamin gift-in-kind grants.
- MIT Poverty Action LabkeyLeading randomized control trial in South Carolina using MVI data to better understand NFP's impact across communities with different vulnerability levels.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Surgo Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Results for Development (R4D): Global health and education nonprofit that partners with governments and funders to design and evaluate programs. Similar in size, mission, and donor-driven operating model to Surgo, with comparable work on health system strengthening in LMICs.
- Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI): Global health nonprofit that works with governments to strengthen health systems and expand access to care in low- and middle-income countries. Long-standing Surgo partner on TB and family planning research in India, with overlapping data-driven, intervention-focused mission.
- Dalberg: Global consulting firm focused on international development, health, and social impact with offices across Africa and Asia. Comparable to Surgo in applying data and behavioral science to development challenges for governments and foundations.
- Ideas42: Nonprofit that applies behavioral science to design and test social programs in health, education, and finance. The closest direct peer to Surgo's CUBES framework and behavioral-science-driven approach to public health interventions.
- PATH: Large global health nonprofit advancing health equity through innovation, data, and partnerships across vaccines, maternal health, and infectious disease. Comparable to Surgo in mission (precision public health), funding model (foundation grants), and government engagement.
- Ariadne Labs: A joint center of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health that designs and tests health system innovations. Co-developed the Vaccine Allocation Planner with Surgo, making it the most directly comparable peer in mission and product.
Broad incumbents
- RAND Corporation: Established research institution that produces data-driven analysis across health, education, and security. Listed as a Surgo partner and competes for the same foundation and government research dollars at much greater scale.
- RTI International: Independent nonprofit research institute with deep global health, data science, and policy evaluation capabilities. Comparable in being a large mission-driven research org serving governments and foundations, though much broader in scope.
- NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research organization affiliated with the University of Chicago, providing data and analysis for health, social, and policy clients. Similar to Surgo in producing large-scale indices and population health analyses, with much greater institutional scale.
- Mathematica: Nonpartisan research and data analytics firm serving federal, state, and foundation clients in health and social programs. Comparable to Surgo in combining behavioral insights, data science, and policy evaluation for public-sector clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Surgo Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceSurgo Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Surgo Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Surgo Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Surgo Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Surgo Ventures
What does Surgo Ventures do?
Surgo Ventures is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) action tank that builds and deploys data-driven software tools and research products combining behavioral science, data science, and AI to solve health and social problems. Its portfolio includes the COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index (CCVI), the U.S. Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI), the Causal AI platform, the CUBES behavioral framework, the Vaccine Allocation Planner, and direct-to-consumer digital solutions such as the askNivi chatbot and Rides for Moms transportation program. These tools are delivered to governments, policymakers, nonprofits, and global health organizations through direct engagement, partnerships, and open-source platforms.
Is Surgo Ventures a public or private company?
Surgo Ventures is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Surgo Ventures founded?
Surgo Ventures was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Surgo Ventures based?
Surgo Ventures is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Surgo Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: foundation Grants and Philanthropic Funding.
Who are Surgo Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Results for Development (R4D), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Dalberg, Ideas42, PATH and Ariadne Labs. Broad incumbents are RAND Corporation, RTI International, NORC at the University of Chicago and Mathematica.
Does Surgo Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Surgo Ventures.
What industry is Surgo Ventures in?
Surgo Ventures's product category is Public Health Analytics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAJAKAN, Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations, with a secondary code of HLAJAOAG, Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Partnerships. Its NAICS code is 6241 and its SIC code is 8742.