Wheel Health

Wheel Health was a telehealth infrastructure company that provided white-label virtual care services to other healthcare organizations. Rather than building a consumer-facing telehealth brand, Wheel powered telehealth for companies like Amazon, Ro, and other digital health startups — providing the clinician network, technology platform, and compliance infrastructure needed to offer virtual care. Founded by Michelle Davey, the company raised $216 million, including a $150 million Series C led by Tiger Global in 2022 at a reported $1.5B+ valuation. The investment thesis was compelling: as telehealth boomed during COVID-19, every healthcare company would need virtual care infrastructure, and Wheel would be the 'Twilio of telehealth.' But telehealth utilization peaked during COVID and then declined significantly. Virtual visit volumes dropped as patients returned to in-person care, and many digital health companies that were Wheel's customers either shut down (like Nurx) or brought telehealth capabilities in-house. The massive tailwind that had driven Wheel's growth reversed into a headwind. Throughout 2023-2024, Wheel underwent significant layoffs and restructuring. The company pivoted to focus on care programs and clinical trial support, but these pivots couldn't replace the lost virtual visit volume. Tiger Global, which had led the Series C at peak valuations, marked down many of its 2021-2022 investments including Wheel. The company represents the broader correction in telehealth infrastructure valuations — where COVID-era growth was mistaken for permanent structural change.