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The Venture Codex

River Cities Capital Funds

221 E. 4th Street, Suite #2400, Cincinnati, OH, 45202, United States

Overview

RCC is a growth equity firm building high-potential healthcare companies by leveraging the unique interplay of our segments of focus: medical device, healthcare services and healthcare IT. We are dedicated to investing on the right side of healthcare, growing companies that enable clinicians to improve the delivery of care and the experiences and outcomes for patients. We seek to be a business partner first and a capital provider second, investing significant human capital to leverage our domain expertise, a network of healthcare thought leaders and deep relationships with health systems assembled over our 28-year history. With more than $900 million of capital raised and a consistent track record, the firm has established itself as a preferred source of growth capital.

Total investments
52
Lead investments
29
Investments · 12mo
1
Active investors
9

Sector focus

  • Health Care
  • Venture Capital
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Investment portfolio

  • Catalyst OrthoScience

    Led · Equity · Oct 2025

    Founded in 2014 by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Steven Goldberg, Catalyst OrthoScience develops shoulder arthroplasty solutions that emphasize bone preservation, soft-tissue protection, and reproducible results. Its flagship total-shoulder systems and the recently launched Catalyst Fracture Shoulder System aim to deliver a more natural-feeling joint while streamlining surgical workflow for physicians. The company’s technology portfolio includes a growing list of issued and pending patents, and its products are already available to surgeons across the United States. Catalyst’s mission is to simplify complex procedures without compromising clinical outcomes, a strategy that has driven expanding surgeon adoption and enthusiasm. Backed by a strong investor base and a leadership team with a record of disciplined growth, the firm plans to accelerate commercial and clinical programs and broaden its footprint in hospital and ambulatory surgery center markets. The new $15 million growth financing strengthens the balance sheet and provides capital for continued innovation and market expansion.

  • ModifyHealth

    Participated · Series C · Dec 2024

    ModifyHealth operates a turnkey food-as-medicine program that delivers medically tailored meals alongside dietitian support, remote patient monitoring, and digital education. The company serves patients through payor, employer, and healthcare system contracts, targeting chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, obesity, and IBS. Its customizable meal plans include Low‑FODMAP, Mediterranean, gluten‑free, plant‑based, and low‑sodium options tailored to clinical needs. ModifyHealth emphasizes telenutrition and live coaching to help patients make sustainable dietary changes and improve outcomes. The company plans to accelerate growth, implement technology advancements, and enhance operations to broaden access and scale its solutions. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. ModifyHealth operates a nationwide food as medicine platform and provides medically tailored meals, working directly with patients and partnering with payors, employers, and healthcare systems. The company’s programs aim to decrease costs and improve outcomes for chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, obesity, and irritable bowel syndrome where dietary management is recommended. Led by founder and CEO GB Pratt, ModifyHealth delivers medically tailored meal programs to patients and coordinates with healthcare stakeholders. The company intends to use its recent funding to support continued growth of its food as medicine solutions and to expand its nationwide operations. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. ModifyHealth provides gut-friendly, Low-FODMAP and gluten-free home-delivered meals combined with dietitian support and digital health solutions. Its offerings deliver evidence-based treatments for GI conditions including IBS, IBD, SIBO, and celiac disease. Led by founder and CEO GB Pratt and based in Atlanta, GA, the company packages meals and clinical support as 'food as medicine' interventions. ModifyHealth closed a $2m Series A to continue scaling those solutions. The company intends to use the funds to grow its 'food as medicine' programs and further expand nationwide operations. The goal is to deliver meaningful patient outcomes through combined nutritional therapy and digital care management.

  • Avive Solutions

    Participated · Equity · Apr 2024

    Avive Solutions develops the Avive Connect AED, a connected automated external defibrillator, alongside complementary software. The Avive Connect AED emphasizes portability, accessibility and connectivity and is paired with the REALConnect platform to streamline AED ownership and management. Avive also provides an intelligent response platform designed to deliver comprehensive cardiac arrest response capabilities to communities. The company is led by CEO Sameer Jafri and is based in San Francisco. In April 2024 Avive closed a $56.5M Growth Equity financing to support its commercial expansion. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate U.S. commercial developments and to expand its team with additional talent. Avive Solutions is a healthcare technology company building a connected automated external defibrillator (AED) paired with a software platform that integrates with public safety and provider ecosystems to address out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The platform connects with 911 Emergency Communications Centers via a partnership with RapidSOS and provides incident data-sharing to close data gaps during cardiac arrest responses. Avive has developed the "4-Minute City" program, which places AEDs strategically across municipalities combined with community training to promote early intervention and equitable outcomes. The company aims to increase survival rates from cardiac arrest and reduce disparities tied to socioeconomic and demographic factors. Led by co-founder and CEO Sameer Jafri and based in San Francisco, Avive closed a $22M Series A to advance its technology-enabled approach to improving OHCA survival rates. Avive Solutions is a San Francisco–based healthcare technology company developing a next-generation AED paired with a first-of-its-kind platform to revolutionize out-of-hospital cardiac arrest response. The company aims to increase SCA survival rates by combining advanced, affordable hardware with data-driven software and integrations into the emergency response ecosystem. Avive emphasizes accessible CPR training features, rapid defibrillation workflows, and a data link to professional first responders. Funding will be used to prepare for commercial launch pending FDA approval and to accelerate platform development and ecosystem integrations. Founded in 2017, Avive has raised over $15 million to date and is in the midst of the FDA review cycle. The company situates its product strategy around shortening time-to-defibrillation to address U.S. out-of-hospital SCA, which accounts for over 350,000 deaths annually and has national average survival rates below 10%. Revive Solutions is a San Francisco-based healthcare technology company developing a next-generation automated external defibrillator and accompanying software aimed at increasing survival from sudden cardiac arrest. The product is described as ultra-portable, easy to maintain, affordable, and simple for bystanders to use effectively. Revive positions its device to address limited AED accessibility caused by bulk, intimidating interfaces, maintenance burdens, and high price points. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to complete the regulatory submission and pursue commercial launch upon FDA approval. The company emphasizes bringing a modernized, accessible AED to market to improve stagnant survival rates. To date, Revive has raised over $6M.

  • Elucent Medical

    Led · Series C · Apr 2024

    Elucent Medical develops guided surgical technologies that transform standard instruments into smart tools using its In-Body Spatial Intelligence (iSi) platform. Its flagship EnVisio System uses a spatial field generator to measure continuous data points across multiple planes and displays exact 3D positioning of the SmartClip marker and SmartSensor to guide soft-tissue surgical excision. EnVisio's adaptive design is intended to integrate seamlessly into surgical workflows to provide intuitive, uninterrupted 3D surgical awareness and improved precision. The company positions its technology for surgical oncologic care to improve patient outcomes through greater accuracy. Elucent is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. In 2024 it raised $44.0 million in a Series C, and in January 2025 Trinity Capital committed $30 million in growth capital to support scaling operations, innovation, and commercialization. Elucent Medical, led by President and CEO Jason Pesterfield and based in Eden Prairie, MN, develops surgical navigation technologies for soft tissue oncology. Its flagship products, EnVisio and SmartClip, provide intelligent spatial guidance by converting existing surgical tools into tracked, real‑time navigated instruments with millimeter precision. EnVisio is currently optimized for guiding breast cancer surgery and adoption has expanded into other soft tissue oncologic procedures. The company is developing additional products to help surgeons achieve margin‑negative resections in lung and other soft tissue clinical applications. Its solutions are designed to integrate with existing tools and minimally invasive platforms, including video and robotic‑assisted technologies. Elucent intends to commercialize and further develop these technologies to improve targeting and tissue‑sparing oncologic surgery.

  • SPR Therapeutics

    Participated · Series D · Feb 2024

    SPR Therapeutics is a medical device company focused on providing non-opioid, minimally invasive pain treatments. Its core product, the SPRINT® PNS System, is a 60-day peripheral nerve stimulation therapy cleared for use up to 60 days and studied for low back, shoulder, post-amputation, and post-operative pain. The system is intended to recondition the central nervous system to deliver sustained pain relief without a permanent implant, nerve destruction, or risk of addiction. The device is indicated for symptomatic relief of chronic, intractable pain and various post-surgical and post-traumatic acute pains, but is not intended for cranial and facial nerve regions. Following an $85M financing (a $25M Series D-1 insider equity and a $60M debt facility), SPR plans to use proceeds to expand U.S. sales representation into additional territories and to support continued product development. The company is led by President, CEO and Founder Maria Bennett and is headquartered in Cleveland, OH with satellite offices in Chapel Hill, NC and Minneapolis, MN. SPR Therapeutics commercializes the FDA-cleared SPRINT® Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System, a restorative 60-day treatment designed to provide significant and sustained pain relief without permanent implants, nerve destruction, or opioids. The SPRINT system is positioned for early use in the care continuum and has been studied for low back, shoulder, knee, post-operative, and post-amputation neuropathic pain. SPR says clinical trials and more than 30 peer-reviewed publications demonstrate improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and reduced opioid use. The company reports rapid commercial uptake — use more than doubled in the past year and the system has treated over 6,500 patients. SPR also holds over 200 issued and pending patents and emphasizes a large body of clinical evidence underpinning its offering. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, with satellite offices in Chapel Hill, NC and Minneapolis, MN, SPR plans to expand commercial reach, support additional clinical research, and advance next-generation technology backed by new financing. SPR Therapeutics, based in Cleveland, Ohio, develops neurostimulation technologies for chronic and acute pain. Its FDA-cleared SPRINT® Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) system uses a threadlike wire placed through the skin connected to a wearable stimulator to activate target nerve fibers, offering a non-narcotic alternative without permanent implants or tissue destruction. The company plans to use the Series C proceeds to commercialize the SPRINT PNS system and to fund additional research across multiple indications, including post-surgical acute pain and chronic low back pain. SPR is led by founder, CEO and president Maria Bennett. The board recently added Nick Valeriani, an experienced healthcare leader who previously served as CEO of West Health and held executive roles at Johnson & Johnson. Prior to this round, SPR had approximately $10 million in prior equity financing and has received nearly $23 million in non-dilutive funding from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. SPR Therapeutics has developed a proprietary peripheral nerve stimulation technology platform aimed at treating acute and chronic joint pain and post-amputation pain. Its investigational SPR™ System positions electrodes in proximity to, but not directly contacting, peripheral nerves and is limited by U.S. law to investigational use. The platform includes two products: the SMARTPATCH™ system, intended for use up to 30 days, and the fully implantable MICROPULSE® system for long-term pain management if pain returns after Smartpatch therapy. The company plans to use new funding to commercialize its pain therapies built on this technology. SPR was founded in January 2010 as a portfolio company of NDI Medical, LLC and is led by President and CEO Maria Bennett. The company raised $5m in Series A financing to support those commercialization efforts. SPR Therapeutics makes a generator-based neurostimulation system that electrically stimulates a peripheral nerve to exercise a muscle and treat pain. The system is initially aimed at reducing shoulder pain in patients who have suffered strokes. Company leadership frames the device as a platform technology that could be applied to treat pain in multiple areas of the body. SPR has applied for the CE Mark and may receive European regulatory approval soon. Financially, SPR raised a $2.2 million Series A earlier in the year and has been approved for a $900,000 loan from the Ohio Department of Development to commercialize the technology and fund machinery, molds, tooling, and IP protection costs.

Team