Eren Bali didn't know he wanted to change the face of healthcare until his mother received a rare health diagnosis. As the family searched for a cure, they traveled from provider to provider with piles of paperwork in hopes of finding an answer. While they were ultimately successful and his mother received the treatment she needed, Bali realized the system was broken. In 2015, he cofounded tech-enabled Carbon Health along with his partners Caesar Djavaherian, Greg Burrell, and Tom Berry and now serves as CEO.
San Francisco-based Carbon Health blends the best of brick and mortar with technology-based to create a business model that puts patients first. The firm prides itself on the streamlined delivery of virtual and in-person care so physicians can see patients where they are at. The leadership team also states that providers have significantly improved clinical efficiency through the use of their end-to-end tech platform, giving them more time to focus on their patients. Carbon also offers a mobile app where patients can access all of their health records, book appointments, make payments, or participate in a video visit.
As for their patients, most are impressed: “I’ve been amazed at how many of our business partnerships have started with someone unknowingly becoming a patient in one of our clinics and being genuinely impressed by their experience,” Bali said in an interview. “Some of the most pivotal developments in the company were initiated by a simple clinic visit. We have even hired multiple executives this way.”
Like many virtual care companies, the firm responded quickly to the spread of Covid-19 in the United States. Carbon rolled out a digital Coronavirus Assessment Tool and began providing testing services at their clinics. They expanded virtual care offerings to more states and now deliver telehealth services to the ten largest states, including New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The company’s aspirations are audacious – expansion to all fifty states by this summer.
Due to surge in demand, Carbon has grown dramatically in recent months - their workforce has tripled while people served through testing, and virtual care options are staggering. Over the last two months, the firm has responded to over 14,000 coronavirus concerns via its assessment tool and conducted more than 12,000 Covid-19 tests in their clinics and through partnerships with both San Francisco and Los Angeles County.
To support their rapid growth, the firm has raised $75 million in capital from the likes of Two Sigma Ventures, Bullpen Venture, and Javelin Partners. In May 2020, the firm raised $28 million in a Series B funding round led by Data Collective. The financing is helping the firm achieve its goals and respond to the growing need for their services.
As for Bali, he is proud of what his company has accomplished. He continues to work hard to ensure that Carbon is an excellent healthcare provider. The CEO believes building diversity within the tech field will prevent what he sees as a herd mentality in Silicon Valley – "there is an extremely small group of people who control the technology world, and they are oblivious to the most important challenges of humanity. It will be key to create diversity [in technology] …. considering how much impact it has on the rest of the world.”
