Citizen Health Raises $30M for AI Patient Advocate
San Francisco, CA – Citizen Health, a pioneering patient-powered platform dedicated to transforming rare disease care, has announced a significant milestone, securing $30 million in Series A funding. This substantial investment, led by 8VC with key participation from Transformation Capital and Headline, brings the company’s total funding to $44 million since its launch in December 2023. The capital infusion is set to accelerate the development and deployment of Citizen Health’s flagship offering: an AI Advocate designed to empower every patient, heralding a new era of patient-centered healthcare.
At its core, Citizen Health is addressing the immense challenges faced by the 400 million people globally affected by rare diseases, 95% of whom currently lack approved treatments. The company’s innovative platform combines artificial intelligence, community support, and longitudinal health data to provide patients, especially those navigating complex conditions, with unprecedented agency, clarity, and actionable insights.
The much-anticipated AI Advocate acts as a personalized guide, simplifying the often-overwhelming healthcare journey. It enables patients to interpret intricate medical records, diligently track symptoms, learn from the shared experiences of peers, manage appointments, and identify the most appropriate next steps in their care. Farid Vij, CEO and co-founder of Citizen Health, emphasized this vision, stating that patients deserve the same clarity and personalization in healthcare as in other aspects of their lives. He highlighted the AI Advocate’s role in guiding patients proactively, transforming passive systems into human-centered experiences. The platform’s advanced “agentic AI” is built to take initiative, identifying and acting on opportunities to improve health in ways patients might not even anticipate.
The founding team, led by Farid Vij and Nasha Fitter (Chief Business Officer & Co-founder), brings a wealth of experience. Both previously co-founded Ciitizen, a company acquired by Invitae in 2021, and their new venture is deeply rooted in personal motivations for rare disease advocacy and patient empowerment. This deep expertise in AI, healthcare, privacy, and consumer technology underpins Citizen Health’s rapid ascent.
Since its late 2023 launch, Citizen Health has demonstrated remarkable traction. The platform has successfully cultivated over 60 engaged communities, spanning 123 rare and complex conditions. It has also forged partnerships with more than 70 patient advocacy groups, 70% of which joined organically – a testament to the platform’s utility and impact. A critical indicator of patient trust is the impressive 98.3% data-sharing rate, with patients willingly contributing their health information for research. This robust, research-grade dataset has already been accepted by the FDA for regulatory submissions and is now leveraged in collaborations with over 10 pharmaceutical partners, poised to accelerate drug discovery and clinical trials.
The significant investment reflects a strong belief in Citizen Health’s transformative potential. Sebastian Caliri, Partner at 8VC, who led the Series A round and joined Citizen Health’s board, noted that the company is “redefining the care model for patients with complex disease,” with their AI advocate already assisting thousands of Americans. Mathias Schilling, Founding Partner at Headline, praised the platform’s groundbreaking ability to support individual patients, empower advocacy groups, and provide valuable data to pharmaceutical leaders. Transformation Capital, a firm dedicated to digital health growth equity, further underscores the strategic importance of Citizen Health’s mission within the evolving healthcare landscape.
Looking ahead, Citizen Health plans to launch the first version of its AI Advocate tool to select communities in the third quarter of 2025, alongside a new product specifically designed for patient advocacy groups. The company is actively recruiting top-tier AI engineers, product builders, and designers, while simultaneously strengthening its partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, policymakers, and patient organizations. This comprehensive approach aims to transition healthcare from a fragmented, reactive system to one that is connected, proactive, and precise, truly putting the patient at its center.