D3VC Portfolio Update: Health Care Originals (HCO)

We’re excited to share an update on one of our recent investments—Health Care Originals, a standout in respiratory health innovation.

Why We Invested
Health Care Originals has developed a patented wearable for asthma and COPD management that doesn’t just passively track symptoms—it actively prevents attacks. What stood out to us:

• AI-driven personalization: Their tech learns baseline respiratory patterns and uses AI to alert users and caregivers before deterioration happens. Future iterations will incorporate LLMs trained on proprietary care prompts, enabling scalable, intelligent patient guidance.
• Validated impact: Clinical studies and 3rd party reports rank HCO’s device “best in class” with published evidence of significantly improved outcomes.
• Unique IP moat: Rather than algorithm patents, HCO holds strong IP in device design and integration with the human body—an often overlooked but critical layer of protection.
• First-mover advantage: HCO is building what continuous glucose monitors are for diabetes—only for respiratory care.

D3VC Due Diligence Highlights
Our questions focused on AI integration, commercialization timelines, market traction, and technical scalability. Key insights from their team:

• Sales Cycle & Adoption: Their 12K-member waitlist converts as soon as payer contracts are signed. The sales cycle is ~9–18 months, targeting payers and MCOs directly.
• AI Strategy: Already deployed for personalized baselines; future AI will handle care automation, making the solution more scalable.
• Miniaturization & Integration: Customers prefer current form factor for comfort and usability. HCO's onboard processing opens the door for third-party integrations in the future.
  
• Resilient Trajectory: Past funding “gap” was due to a pivot post-COVID. That same pivot led to major contracts and a derisked, validated product in a new market.
  

What’s Happening Now 
Recent internal updates from the CEO (shared with permission, but not yet public):

• Selected by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America to lead a rollout in Texas.
• Approved as a Preferred Purchasing Partner by a healthcare coalition covering 400,000 lives—$5.8M ARR at full deployment.
• Near-term MCO contract for 4,000 patients in Texas ($3M ARR), with 3 additional states and up to 10,000 members planned next year ($7.8M ARR).

Media Recognition
Health Care Originals was recently featured in Forbes, highlighting how Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) enabled them to secure the necessary funding to bring their innovative, affordable respiratory disease solutions to a broader audience. The article emphasizes the role of investor evangelists in supporting HCO's mission to improve asthma and COPD care.

Why It Fits the D3VC Thesis
At D3VC, we leverage AI and proprietary data to identify companies with early signals of success. HCO checked every box—mission-driven founder, non-obvious competitive moat, and a business model built for ROI in a high-cost, underserved market.

Our model saw HCO’s follow-on potential early, and the investment committee’s qualitative review confirmed it: this is the kind of founder-led, category-defining startup that delivers both impact and outsized returns.