Seattle-based Kivo Health has raised $10 million in Series A funding to expand a virtual pulmonary rehabilitation program for older adults living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
The round was led by Allumia Ventures, with participation from Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures.
The investment brings total funding to more than $16 million.
Founded by CEO Dr. Victor Sadauskas and CTO Vaughn Koch, Kivo combines live clinical rehabilitation with remote monitoring and AI-supported patient care.
Its core proposition is to make an established medical treatment available to patients who struggle to attend traditional rehabilitation centers.
What Kivo Health Actually Provides
COPD is a chronic lung condition that can cause breathlessness, fatigue and difficulty performing everyday activities.
Pulmonary rehabilitation is a clinically established treatment combining supervised exercise, breathing techniques, education and support.
It can improve functional capacity and help patients manage symptoms.
However, accessing rehabilitation can be difficult.
Patients may need to travel to specialist facilities multiple times per week, sometimes while relying on supplemental oxygen.
Transportation, mobility limitations and geographic distance can prevent patients from participating.
Kivo delivers pulmonary rehabilitation at home.
Eligible patients receive a kit containing a cellular-connected tablet, pulse oximeter and exercise equipment.
They complete an initial clinical assessment before joining a nine-week program of live, therapist-led sessions.
The sessions cover physical activity, breathing exercises and education about managing COPD.
Clinical staff can monitor oxygen saturation and other relevant information during treatment.
After the formal program, patients can receive continuing support through Kivo's technology platform and care team.
How AI Fits Into the Care Model
Kivo is not replacing respiratory therapists with autonomous medical agents.
Its program remains centered on supervised clinical care.
AI supports activities such as patient engagement, symptom monitoring, coordination and identifying situations that may require additional attention.
That distinction matters because COPD patients may have complex medical needs, particularly when using supplemental oxygen or experiencing frequent exacerbations.
An automated system can help organize information, but clinical decisions still require qualified professionals.
Kivo's broader strategy is to increase the number of patients a clinical care organization can support without proportionally increasing administrative work.
Evidence From Clinical Research
Unlike many digital health startups, Kivo has published clinical evidence involving its rehabilitation model.
In May 2025, the company announced findings from a peer-reviewed study examining virtual rehabilitation outcomes among COPD patients, including those using supplemental oxygen.
The study reported improvements in measures of breathlessness, exercise capacity and depression symptoms.
According to Kivo's summary, participants achieved a median attendance rate of 88%, with no major adverse events reported in the studied cohort.
These findings provide evidence that virtual delivery can be feasible and beneficial for participating patients.
However, improvement within a clinical cohort should not automatically be interpreted as proof of lower hospitalization rates across the entire insured population.
The company has separately published an economic analysis estimating potential annual healthcare savings of approximately $8,245 per member.
That figure is a modeled estimate, not independently established savings across all payer contracts.
Why Insurers Are Interested
COPD can generate substantial healthcare costs through hospital admissions, emergency visits and complications.
Healthcare plans therefore have an incentive to improve access to treatments that help patients manage their condition.
Kivo reports coverage through Medicare, Medicaid and several private insurers.
Its partners include health systems and insurance organizations, with collaborations involving Stanford Health Care and Priority Health.
The company has approximately 50 employees, including clinicians, according to GeekWire.
The new funding will support national expansion and additional technology development.
Competition in Digital Respiratory Care
Kivo operates in a market that includes hospital-based rehabilitation providers, telehealth companies and digital chronic disease management platforms.
Its differentiation is the combination of live pulmonary rehabilitation and technology-supported follow-up.
This is different from a general wellness application that provides breathing exercises or educational content without supervised clinical treatment.
Kivo's medical model also creates higher delivery costs than a purely automated software product.
It must recruit qualified clinicians, coordinate patient care and maintain appropriate clinical oversight.
The Reimbursement and Retention Challenge
Virtual rehabilitation depends on reimbursement policies and patient participation.
Coverage may vary according to payer, patient eligibility and specific program requirements.
Kivo must demonstrate that its model works financially for insurers and providers, not simply that patients can participate remotely.
Long-term engagement is also important.
Patients with chronic lung conditions need continuing support, and improvements achieved during a nine-week rehabilitation program may diminish without sustained physical activity.
The company will therefore need evidence about longer-term outcomes, program completion and healthcare utilization.
What Comes Next?
Kivo plans to expand access nationwide and potentially apply its delivery infrastructure to additional chronic conditions.
That creates an opportunity to serve older patients who face similar barriers to in-person care.
However, expanding into new conditions requires clinical evidence and potentially different staffing and reimbursement arrangements.
Kivo's strongest advantage is that pulmonary rehabilitation already has an established clinical rationale. The company's challenge is making that care easier to access while demonstrating durable patient outcomes and sustainable economics for healthcare partners.