Participated · Series C · Jul 2020

Ro operates a patient-centric telehealth platform offering at-home tests and care in areas including fertility, chronic conditions (cholesterol, A1C, testosterone) and weight management. The company has grown via acquisitions over the past 12 months, buying Workpath, Kit and Modern Fertility and is reported to be in talks to acquire at-home sperm storage startup Dadi. CEO Zachariah Reitano highlighted product gaps such as the lack of male factor semen analysis, limited treatment capability after testing, incomplete remote patient monitoring for weight management, and the absence of a mobile app. Ro has experienced employee churn and internal tensions as it seeks to expand beyond its initial wins. The business appears to be continuing an offensive growth strategy to close platform gaps and broaden services. Financially, the company remains a private unicorn and recently raised additional capital at an increased valuation. Ro operates a hybrid primary care model that combines telemedicine with in-home visits and a growing direct-to-consumer pharmacy to vertically integrate care delivery. The company is expanding its pharmacy footprint to enable next-day shipping nationwide and plans 10 pharmacies by the end of this year and 15 by the end of next year. Ro already offers 500 common drugs at $5 per month and intends to ramp that to 1,000 drugs by year’s end. Management says the platform will continue to invest in telemedicine, logistics and pharmacy operations, in-home care, diagnostics, and remote patient monitoring. The company positions vertical integration and technology as levers to reduce patient costs and improve proactive care. Financially, this growth effort is funded amid a recent large equity raise that adds to its cumulative capital since founding. Ro builds technology to power three digital health clinics — Roman for men’s health, Rory for women’s health, and Zero for fighting smoking cessation. The company also operates Ro Pharmacy, an online pharmacy where every generic medication is $5 per month. Ro’s nationwide network of physicians and pharmacies provides a personalized healthcare experience from online treatment to delivery of medication and ongoing care. Led by Co‑Founder & CEO Zachariah Reitano, Ro was founded in 2017 and is based in New York, NY. Ro completed a $200M Series C round led by existing investor General Catalyst. With this round, Ro has raised a total of $376M since its founding. Ro started as a cloud pharmacy and telemedicine portal focused on erectile dysfunction medications, enabling diagnoses and prescriptions via phone and text. The company has sold prescription ED drugs (e.g., Viagra and Cialis) and driven over a million patient-physician visits, calls, and messages through its platform. Ro recently launched Zero, a $129 quit-smoking kit that includes a month of prescription bupropion, nicotine gum, and an app for tracking progress. The startup says it plans to build out its own pharmacy and backend electronic medical-record infrastructure to support additional verticals, including women’s health, over the next two to three years. Less than a year after launching with $3 million in initial funding and a five-person team, Ro grew to ~70 employees and a revenue run-rate in the tens of millions, up 720% since January. The company currently charges $15 telemedicine appointments, does not accept insurance for its products, and acknowledges early margins on the Zero kit are modest.