Digital healthcare in Latin America just took a big step forward, thanks to a former Uber Eats executive who’s bringing an AI-driven solution to doctors across the region. If you’re wondering how a tech veteran from the food delivery space raised $14 million to solve a problem in healthcare, let’s just say it involves innovation, adaptability, and knowing how to listen to your market’s unique struggles.
Caroline Merin, who led Uber Eats in Latin America and later served as the COO of Rappi, leveraged her background in customer-centric logistics to take on one of the most frustrating challenges for doctors in her region: the chaos of managing patient communication on WhatsApp. If you’ve ever tried running a business or service off of a general-use app, you’ll recognize the pain points here immediately.
Breaking Down the WhatsApp Dilemma for Doctors
For over 60% of Latin American healthcare providers, WhatsApp serves as the main mode of communication with their patients. On one hand, the familiarity of the app makes it easy for patients to reach their doctors. On the other hand, this ease leads to overuse, doctors often receive hundreds of messages daily, ranging from urgent medical crises to harmless requests like prescription reminders.
Merin noticed this problem during her years in the region, as her work building logistics infrastructures relied heavily on scalability and smooth operations. By applying similar principles to healthcare, she could envision a solution where AI acts as a co-pilot, helping doctors regain control of their professional and personal lives.
What Leona Health Offers
Merin founded Leona Health in 2023 with the mission of solving this issue, and by 2025, the company had expanded to doctors in 14 Latin American countries. Here’s how their service works:
- Message Filtering: The app integrates directly into WhatsApp and automatically sorts through incoming messages to separate urgent issues from non-urgent ones.
- Suggested Responses: Using AI, the platform drafts reply suggestions tailored to each patient’s message.
- Delegation: Doctors can hand off non-clinical messages to trusted team members for follow-up, keeping their focus on what really matters.
- Time Saved: Practicing doctors who use the app report saving about two to three hours daily.
The next phase will include scheduling capabilities and basic patient intake, all through an autonomous AI assistant.
You can learn more about Leona Health on their official company website.
Funding Success: Support from Some of Tech's Most Prominent Players
The $14M seed round Merin secured wasn’t a random phenomenon. The round was led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with contributions from high-profile figures like David Vélez, CEO of Nubank, and Kate Ryder, who leads Maven Clinic. From there, other names joined in, including General Catalyst and Accel.
These backers didn’t just bring capital to the table; they brought validation. With several of them tied to the LatAm region’s economic development, their support hints at confidence in the scalability of the solution.
What’s remarkable is how Leona Health intentionally builds their team across two continents, Mexico City and Silicon Valley, blending localized expertise with cutting-edge talent pools in AI.
What European Entrepreneurs Can Learn
As I reflect on this as a founder myself, I can’t help but explore some takeaways that resonate strongly with the challenges and opportunities in Europe:
Lesson 1: Your Strength Doesn’t Have to Define Your Next Play
Merin’s shift from food delivery logistics to digital healthcare shows that your ability to think strategically and solve pain points can be applied across industries. In Europe, where many industries are siloed due to regulations or niche ecosystems, this level of pivot is inspiring.
Lesson 2: Deeply Understand Behavior in Your Region
WhatsApp may not have the same ubiquity in Europe’s healthcare systems as it does in Latin America. But the principle remains: go where your audience already is. Whether you’re trying to modernize communications for patients, freelancers, or enterprise clients, tailor your tools to their habits.
Lesson 3: Make Investors Part of the Mission
Having prominent investors with a stake in your solution (whether proximity-wise or market-wise) goes a long way. Many European female founders, like myself, face difficulty convincing institutional investors to “buy in.” Be bold about your strategic pitch, and challenge their expectations about your industry.
Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Should Avoid
From my experience, and looking at what makes startups like Leona Health succeed, there are two stumbling blocks that many fall into:
-
Trying to “Educate” the Market
If you’re a B2B startup founder developing solutions that need too much behavior change or new infrastructure, you’ll burn time and money. Instead, focus on markets or cultures where your tool fits into existing workflows, like what Leona did by plugging into WhatsApp rather than trying to replace it. -
Scalable but Unethical AI Use
A key priority for female entrepreneurs should be balancing scalability with good ethical practices. AI should enhance, not replace, human interaction beyond acceptable norms. This is something you’ll see monitored closely as Leona evolves.
How to Apply This Approach as a European Female Founder
Perhaps you’re developing a tech-enabled service for freelancers or trying to improve B2B support in industries that tend to favor clunky platforms over consumer-grade workflows. Begin by answering two questions:
- What overwhelming task or bottleneck can I streamline?
- How can I meet my audience where they already work?
For me, this was the genesis behind the gamified incubator I run. Instead of forcing would-be founders into months-long program grinds, we turned education into immersive, project-based learning. By connecting with VCs and accelerators worldwide, we’ve managed to scale quickly.
If you’re looking for creative tools, my own F/MS platform features resources and games that align with what you might need in the early stages!
Final Thoughts
Leona Health’s story proves that even small, hyper-focused teams (just 13 people!) can disrupt the status quo by solving specific, entrenched problems with innovative tools. For European female founders, the message is clear: go small, go targeted, and don’t let industries outside your core experience scare you off.
Is this the future of combining operational tech with AI in Europe? Absolutely worth considering. If Merin can turn WhatsApp into a doctor’s best friend, you can rewrite the workflows in your sector too. Women across industries are uniquely equipped with problem-solving perspectives, let’s use them to build better realities.
If you’re interested in hearing more insights from the startup ecosystem, make sure to visit TechCrunch coverage on Leona Health.
FAQ
1. Who founded Leona Health and why?
Leona Health was founded by Caroline Merin, a former Uber Eats executive in Latin America, who aimed to address the chaos doctors experienced when managing patient communication via WhatsApp. Merin leveraged her experience in logistics and scalability to develop an AI-driven solution. Discover more about Leona Health
2. What problem does Leona Health solve for doctors?
Leona Health tackles the issue of doctors being overwhelmed by hundreds of daily WhatsApp messages from patients. The platform streamlines communication by filtering messages, drafting response suggestions, and delegating non-clinical queries to staff. Explore Leona Health’s solution
3. How does Leona Health integrate into doctors’ workflows?
Leona Health integrates directly into WhatsApp, allowing doctors to triage messages, save time through AI-generated replies, and maintain focus on urgent patient needs. Doctors report saving 2-3 hours daily. Learn about WhatsApp integration
4. How much funding has Leona Health raised?
Leona Health secured $14 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with contributions from other notable investors such as Accel, General Catalyst, and Nubank CEO David Vélez.
5. In which countries is Leona Health available?
Leona Health has expanded its services to doctors across 14 Latin American countries, catering to 22 medical specialties. See full coverage
6. Who are the key investors backing Leona Health?
Leona Health’s seed round was led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), along with contributions from General Catalyst, Accel, and high-profile figures such as Kate Ryder (CEO of Maven Clinic) and Simón Borrero (CEO of Rappi).
7. What upcoming features are planned for Leona Health?
Leona Health plans to implement autonomous AI assistants for scheduling and basic patient intake in its next phase of development. Future developments for Leona Health
8. How did Caroline Merin’s background support Leona Health’s creation?
Caroline Merin used her expertise from leading Uber Eats and Rappi to build scalable systems, applying similar principles to healthcare to design an effective AI solution for doctors. Learn about Caroline Merin’s journey
9. What cultural factors made WhatsApp an ideal platform for Leona Health?
In Latin America, WhatsApp is the primary communication tool between patients and doctors. Leona Health pivoted to enhance communication on a platform already popular in the region. Explore WhatsApp’s ubiquity in healthcare
10. Where is Leona Health’s team based?
Leona Health operates from Mexico City and Silicon Valley to benefit from localized expertise and cutting-edge AI talent. Discover the team structure
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
