Other investors in this round included CoFound Partners, StoryHouse Ventures, and prominent figures such as former One Medical CEO Tom Lee and ex-Twitter CTO Adam Messinger.

Parakeet Health, an AI patient communication company, raised $3 million in seed funding led by Canvas Ventures. The startup also signed several new provider contracts to expand its AI-based call center platform. 

Other investors in this round included CoFound Partners, StoryHouse Ventures, and prominent figures such as former One Medical CEO Tom Lee and ex-Twitter CTO Adam Messinger.

Founded by industry veterans from One Medical, Epocrates, and Doximity, Parakeet Health’s AI solution aims to streamline patient communication and tackle staffing shortages in healthcare. 

The AI call center agent handles inbound and outbound calls, appointment scheduling, referrals, and billing queries. It operates 24/7 in multiple languages and is designed to reduce administrative burden and revenue leakage in healthcare practices.

Addressing Healthcare Staffing Challenges

According to Parakeet Health's CEO and co-founder Jung Park, "Half of practices report that their biggest issue is staffing. Post-pandemic, this problem has worsened, with administrative staff facing empathy fatigue and high levels of stress,’’ said co-founder Eric Mao. 

Many healthcare workers are burnt out from handling constant calls, leading to missed opportunities and financial loss for practices.

Parakeet's AI agent is designed to resolve these issues by always answering calls, even during after-hours. The platform reduces the risk of missed revenue by promptly contacting patients on waitlists when cancellations occur and following up on referrals. 

“We’ve focused on building voice technology that sounds natural, responsive, and can handle complex speech. Appointment scheduling is complex, and each provider has their own custom rules, but we’ve created a system that adapts to these needs.” Mao explained, noting the importance of making AI interactions seamless. 

Healthcare Organisations See Benefits

In just six months, Parakeet Health claims its AI system has cut patient acquisition costs in half—from $8.38 to $4.09—and has allowed front desk staff to focus on more meaningful patient interactions. 

“We want them to be interacting with patients, not just answering phones when a patient is right in front of them,” Park said.

The AI platform is already being used by healthcare providers such as virtual primary care service Galileo, genetic counseling company Genome Medical, and multisite dermatology provider Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery.

Rebecca Lynn, chief investor at Canvas Ventures, said, "Parakeet’s AI-driven platform is helping health systems manage patient outreach and scheduling without overwhelming their staff. Many organizations are losing money by not optimizing these processes."

Lynn also expressed confidence that more large health systems would adopt Parakeet's solution, stating, "The team’s deep healthcare expertise and ability to integrate into existing workflows gives me confidence in what comes next."

Moreover, Parakeet Health has noticed that patients are changing their habits due to the 24/7 availability of the AI call center. Park shared that patients now schedule appointments at unusual hours, such as 2 am, simply because the AI bot is always available to respond.

As the healthcare sector continues to struggle with staffing shortages and increasing administrative demands, solutions such as Parakeet Health’s AI call center offer organizations a way to maintain high levels of patient communication while reducing staff burnout and revenue loss.

Stay tuned for more such updates on Digital Health News.