About DaVita Venture Group
DaVita Venture Group is part of DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® health care provider focused on transforming care delivery to patients around the globe. We aim to invest in, develop and launch products, solutions and businesses that improve care for patients with kidney disease and related conditions.
Our Priorities
Bringing patient-centered chronic care to scale requires reimagining health care as it exists today. As a result, DaVita Venture Group targets companies and products that support our vision across a few key areas of focus.
Digital Health
Digitally enabled products and services that leverage technology, data and connectivity to improve health care delivery.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices
Products that will improve clinical outcomes and patient experience while reducing overall costs for the health care system.
Care Delivery Models
Advancements that expand access to care and improve clinical outcomes by accelerating the adoption of home treatments and value-based care.
Our Capabilities
We have built DaVita Venture Group with three complementary capabilities that allow us to tap into outside organizations as well as our very own teammates.
STRATEGIC INVESTING
Strategic Investing
We look to invest in early-to-mid stage, growth-oriented businesses that share our mission to transform health care. From improving clinical outcomes through tech-enabled services to expanding access to care with emerging platforms, we want to invest in changing the future of patient care. We operate this fund in collaboration with Healthbox.
PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships
We strive to collaborate with other entities to develop, test and bring new technologies to market. We also look to contribute our clinical and operational expertise, resources for product development, insights from data and more.
INCUBATION
Incubation
We are building a pathway for DaVita teammates to develop, pilot and scale innovative ideas with commercial potential. We seek out opportunities that could possibly become new businesses altogether, as well as those that enhance our suite of services within the core kidney care business.
Our Team
Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, FASN
Group Vice President, Research and Development
Mahesh is the clinical lead for DaVita Venture Group and focuses on establishing strategic partnerships with industry leaders, while remaining active in DaVita’s R&D efforts. Prior to DaVita Venture Group, he served as DaVita’s first international Chief Medical Officer.
Before DaVita, Mahesh served as medical director for Epogen® at Amgen, and practiced nephrology in northern Virginia for nearly five years. He earned his MD from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He also holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.
Steve Phillips
Vice President, Strategy and Innovation
Steve is the business lead for DaVita Venture Group and has responsibility for managing the portfolio of DaVita’s innovation efforts and investments. He has focused his career on health care strategy and has experience driving growth and innovation within large health plans and providers. Prior to joining DaVita Venture Group, he focused on DaVita’s enterprise strategy to lead the transformation of kidney care and developed new sources of growth.
Before joining DaVita, Steve was a health care strategy consultant. He has an undergraduate degree from Lafayette College and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Brian Steers
Director, Partnerships
Brian leads the partnerships lane for DaVita Venture Group and has responsibility for driving strategic collaborations with innovative medical device, pharma, analytics and technology companies. He has spent his career driving innovative transformation across the business and brings expertise in technology development from leading DaVita’s first-ever medical device development collaboration.
Before joining DaVita, Brian was an operations leader in the aerospace industry. Brian has an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.
Daniel Wetmore
Director, Incubation
Daniel leads incubation for DaVita Venture Group and works with DaVita teammates to transform innovative ideas into businesses with commercial promise. He helps them develop a business case, refine go-to market strategies and test for product market fit.
Prior to joining DaVita Venture Group, Daniel worked in DaVita's Corporate Strategy department supporting efforts to acquire and grow new businesses. He has an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
Josh Creamer
Sr. Director, Head of New Venture Investments
Josh leads investments in health care technology and technology-enabled services companies, and manages fund operations. Since starting with DaVita, he has focused on technology innovation, internal incubation and investment opportunities.
Prior to DaVita, Josh worked on innovation strategy and investment efforts at McKesson. Before McKesson, he was a member of J.P. Morgan’s principal investments arm.
Josh is completing dual-degree advanced studies at MIT, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.