Oak HC/FT

Oak HC/FT is the venture and growth equity firm that Annie Lamont, Patricia Kemp, and Andrew Adams founded in 2014 with a deliberate focus on healthcare information services and financial services technology. The firm closed a $1.4 billion fund in 2021, and across its history has built one of the strongest performance records in healthcare venture, with 20 realizations and six portfolio companies achieving billion-dollar valuations over the past decade. In 2023 Oak HC/FT was named one of the ten best-performing venture capital firms in the world by Preqin, and the firm has earned a reputation as the digital-health-and-fintech specialist that consistently produces breakout outcomes.

Annie Lamont, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner, is one of the most influential investors in digital health, with a portfolio that has included Aspire Health, Athenahealth, CareBridge, Devoted Health, iHealth Technologies (which became Cotiviti), NetSpend, One Medical, and VillageMD. Andrew Adams, also a co-founder and managing partner, has led Oak HC/FT into companies including One Medical (acquired by Amazon), iHealth Technologies, Therapy Brands, CLARiENT, PharMEDium Healthcare, Limeade, Benefitfocus, Core Informatics, LDI, Maestro Health, Health Dialog, and PayFlex. Patricia Kemp anchors the fintech practice and frequently co-leads healthcare investments where the financial-services and benefits-administration angles overlap. The broader partnership has expanded with general partners and partners drawn from operating roles at incumbent healthcare and financial services companies, plus specialists in value-based care, behavioral health, and provider operations.

Oak HC/FT writes initial checks of $10 million to $75 million across Series B through growth equity, with the capacity to lead and to anchor recapitalizations and growth rounds. The firm occasionally writes earlier checks, particularly when the founder is a repeat operator known to the partnership, but it is not primarily a seed or Series A firm. Oak HC/FT prefers to lead at Series B and at growth, frequently as the largest investor in a given round, and reserves heavily for follow-on. The firm is also active in growth-stage recapitalizations and is one of the few healthcare specialists comfortable with both venture and private-equity-style transactions.

Founders who should approach Oak HC/FT are operators building proven, scaling healthcare businesses: value-based care providers with multi-state footprints, payer infrastructure software with named customer logos, behavioral health and substance use providers with provable outcomes, and tech-enabled care delivery companies with $5 million plus in ARR or equivalent revenue traction. Repeat founders with prior digital health exits will find a particularly receptive audience. Founders at concept or seed stage, biopharma founders, devices founders, and consumer DTC brands should look elsewhere. The firm’s value-add is highest for companies that need help scaling commercial operations, navigating payer and provider relationships at the executive level, and preparing for either a growth round or an eventual exit.

Entry path runs through warm introductions from portfolio CEOs, prior Oak HC/FT-backed founders, and senior healthcare operators in the Lamont and Adams networks. Annie Lamont in particular is one of the most networked investors in digital health and is reachable through HLTH, JPMorgan Healthcare, and the AcademyHealth circuits. Cold inbound through the website is triaged but converts at low rates without commercial proof. Diligence is rigorous and partner-driven, with substantial customer reference work, typically four to eight weeks from first meeting to term sheet for competitive deals.

In a pitch, lead with the commercial proof: ARR, growth rate, gross margin, net revenue retention, and named customer logos. Oak HC/FT partners are operators and former CEOs and they will not be impressed by macro slides or unproven theses. They want to see that you have built a real business, that you understand the payer-provider dynamics in your category, and that you have a credible plan to compound from current scale to category leadership. They will also want to understand the management team in detail and will frequently make hiring and operating recommendations as part of their value-add. The firm’s reputation is built on partnership at scale: founders who want a deeply engaged board partner, one who will help them refine commercial strategy, recruit senior talent, and prepare for either a growth round or an exit, will find Oak HC/FT one of the most operationally useful tier-one partners in healthcare and digital health.