Vanderbilt University

About the fund

Jumpstart Nova Fund I was the inaugural venture capital fund launched by Jumpstart Health Investors in 2022, raising approximately $55 million — significantly oversubscribing its original $30 million target — with the specific mission of investing exclusively in early-stage, Black-founded and Black-led healthcare companies. The fund focused on seed and Series A startups across health information technology, digital health, tech-enabled services, diagnostic devices, biotech, medical device manufacturing, and consumer health and wellness — a strategy aimed at addressing long-standing underinvestment in Black healthcare innovators while advancing solutions that improve access, affordability, and patient outcomes in the U.S. medical ecosystem. The fund attracted strategic limited partners from major healthcare corporations and institutions, including Eli Lilly and Company, HCA Healthcare, Cardinal Health, Atrium Health, Henry Ford Health System, Meharry Medical College, the American Hospital Association, and financial backers like Bank of America and FirstBank, positioning Jumpstart Nova as a historic first-of-its-kind venture fund in the healthcare space.