Backed by $14M in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, and pre-seed funding led by General Catalyst with participation from Accel, Leona Health is building a new healthcare operating system – starting in Latin America, and building for the world – that empowers doctors with more time to deliver patient care

SAN FRANCISCO and MEXICO CITY, Dec. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Leona Health – the world’s first AI co-pilot for doctors built on WhatsApp – announced its launch across 14 countries and 22 specialties. Backed by $14M in seed funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from General Catalyst (pre-seed lead), Accel, Maven Clinic’s Kate Ryder, Nubank’s David Vélez, and Rappi’s Simón Borrero, Leona Health is partnering with physicians to build smarter AI-powered support.

An AI co-pilot for doctors

Leona Health’s first focus is solving one of doctors’ biggest challenges: patient communication. As a co-pilot, Leona Health leverages the latest in AI and large language models to securely integrate with a doctor’s WhatsApp. While patients continue to message their doctors on WhatsApp, doctors receive the communication in the Leona mobile app. With capabilities such as automatic categorization, suggested responses, team collaboration and admin support, doctors save hours a day with more efficient administrative support. Soon, the product will also include AI conversational scheduling and full automation for non-clinical tasks. As Leona learns from each doctor’s workflow, it becomes increasingly accurate, personal, and supportive over time.

“In Latin America’s private healthcare system, care often begins with a WhatsApp message,” said Caroline Merin, cofounder and CEO of Leona Health. “The heart of healthcare is the doctor-patient relationship, but without the right tools, that humanity comes at a cost. By automating the administrative side of medicine with an AI co-pilot for doctors, Leona Health is building the future operating system for healthcare to scale what matters most: human connection.”

Protecting patient care in a market ripe for disruption

In many countries around the world, physicians are solo entrepreneurs who run their own private-practice, often as a team of one. Without widespread adoption of electronic health record (EHR) tools – just 35% in Latin America compared to 90% in the United States – many rely on WhatsApp for patient communication and scheduling. In today’s on-demand world, where patients want access and answers 24/7, doctors in Latin America are now working double-time: treating patients in person while responding to hundreds of administrative messages on their personal phones.

“Unlike in the United States, in Mexico we don’t message patients through an EHR, but on our personal phone numbers,” said Dr. Inés Álvarez, a Mexico City-based physician who has a panel of over 1200 patients and was an early Leona Health adopter. “I get more than 100 messages a day, often between patient visits or when I’m sitting down to dinner with my kids. Leona has been transformative, giving me back 10+ hours each week to focus on my patients, not my phone.”

Designing the future of care delivery, worldwide

Leona Health is uniquely scalable. By launching first in Latin America, a region still building healthcare infrastructure from the ground up, Leona is designing a model for care that can expand globally. Leveraging WhatsApp, a platform that 95% of doctors in Latin America report using to run their practice, and 3 billion people worldwide use monthly, Leona Health turns familiar tools into intelligent workflows. Emerging from a stealth pilot, the company is already active across 14 countries with doctors from more than 22 different specialties.

“Leona Health is creating a new layer of digital infrastructure for healthcare — one that starts where people already communicate, on WhatsApp,” said Julie Yoo, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “By leveraging ubiquitous technology and thoughtful design, Leona is showing how tech can transform access to care and re-architect the patient experience for a more connected, intelligent future.”

About Leona Health
Leona Health is the first AI co-pilot helping doctors scale the human side of healthcare through WhatsApp, the world’s most used communications platform. By turning everyday administrative messages into organized, intelligent workflows, Leona Health frees doctors to focus on patient care. Launched in Latin America – where 95% of patient-physician communication already happens on WhatsApp – Leona Health now powers better experiences for patients across 14 countries. Backed by $14M in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, and Accel, as well as Maven Clinic’s Kate Ryder, Nubank’s David Vélez, and Rappi’s Simón Borrero, Leona Health is building a new operating system for care that will scale globally.

CONTACT
Erin Fitzgerald
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Sue Hager
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