In 27 states, nurse practitioners are allowed to operate with full practice authority. That means they can run their own practices and work outside of hospital systems\u2014often a more lucrative path. It\u2019s an ongoing regulatory transformation to the health care industry, with more states likely to grant full practice authority to the female-dominated profession as a way to increase access to health care and especially primary care. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s just one of several trends transforming health care right now that led Lava Sunder and Anne Gifford to found the company Corner Health. The changing regulatory landscape for NPs, primary care shortages, and AI\u2019s new applications in health care business operations are all at the center of their company. \u201cIt felt like the perfect storm to create something,\u201d Sunder says. <\/p>\n
The pair just closed a $25 million Series A round led by the health care investor Oak HC\/FT, Fortune is the first to report. With $7.5 million in seed and pre-seed funding, that\u2019s a total of $32.5 million. <\/p>\n
Sunder and Gifford have been talking to NPs for years about what they need. \u201cThey\u2019re wildly entrepreneurial,\u201d Sunder says. Seventy-eight percent of NPs want to start their own businesses. (And 77% of NPs are women.) \u201cThey frankly feel quite dismissed in the medical environments they\u2019re in today,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n
Many patients seek out the kind of care NPs offer. Primary care appointments are longer, often with a more holistic approach. <\/p>\n
Corner Health is not a consumer brand; it\u2019s an operating layer for NPs that allows them to operate as solo practitioners without hiring clinic support staff. Corner\u2019s AI tool handles scheduling, patient communication, lab orders, referrals, and more. The service is operating in Arizona and Washington state now, with 70 NPs running their own businesses using the platform. Some of those NPs have already doubled their salaries compared to what they were earning in hospital systems. Corner is on track to have more locations than Amazon\u2019s One Medical by the end of the year. <\/p>\n
Oak HC\/FT founding partner Annie Lamont has been watching the changing regulatory landscape for NPs for more than a decade. \u201cWe always thought they should be empowered to do more as part of the system,\u201d she says. In May, the Wall Street Journal christened NP \u201cthe hottest job in health care<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n With health care jobs in general cited as a bright spot in the labor force amid AI disruption, models like Corner\u2019s change what those jobs can lead to. \u201cThis gives nurses more options,\u201d Lamont says. \u201cAnd I think that will drive more people into that specialty, because they believe they can be a small-business person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a job and it wasn\u2019t a career,\u201d Lamont says. \u201cAnd I think people are looking more for careers\u2014we need that in health care.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Hinchliffe The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune\u2019s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ALSO IN THE HEADLINES<\/p>\n Who will replace Lindsey Graham?\u00a0The South Carolina GOP senator died at 71 over the weekend. President Trump is backing Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to finish out his term<\/a> in the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n What’s going on with Phia?\u00a0The fashion tech startup cofounded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, backed by a who’s-who list of celebrities, is facing a serious scandal. The app allegedly claimed credit for sales it didn’t drive<\/a>, taking revenue away from other platforms (like Wirecutter). The practice is known as “cookie stuffing.” Phia has said it was a bug in its code that has been fixed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The WNBA just broke its regular season attendance record. 20,996 fans showed up<\/a> to watch the Dallas Wings play the Toronto Tempo in Montreal\u2014a city that doesn’t even have its own WNBA team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Goldman’s Epstein saga isn’t over.\u00a0Kathy Ruemmler announced she would step down as general counsel after her past work with Jeffrey Epstein became a huge issue. But she’s staying on in an advisory role to help her successor, concerning employees and complicating the search<\/a> for that successor.\u00a0<\/p>\n ON MY RADAR<\/p>\n Elin Hilderbrand, the queen of the beach read, can’t put down her pen Boston Mag<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Becoming a plumber completely changed my life’\u00a0The Cut<\/a><\/p>\n Your 40s used to be middle age. Not anymore\u00a0WSJ<\/a><\/p>\n PARTING WORDS<\/p>\n “Our chemistry is the thing I\u2019m most proud of in the film. This really feels like a love story between sisters.”<\/p>\n
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n