Understood Care
YC S24New York City, US · Founded 2025 · 7 employees · 7 known investors
Understood Care provides patient advocacy services for older adults navigating healthcare, particularly Medicare benefits and care coordination. The company connects clients with trained advocates who help with claims, medication safety, transportation, and social services.
Also known as Inc · Ply Health
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechHealth TechHealthcareHealth InsuranceAIAI AssistantUnited States of AmericaAmerica / CanadaPartly Remote
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S24)
Understood Care was founded in 2025 by Samantha Wu and Kevin Bailey.
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Samantha WuinCo-FounderShe previously served as head of business operations at Finni, a Y Combinator company, and held positions at Cedar, SiteRx, Carlyle, and Evercore.
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Kevin BaileyFounder
Investors · 7
Informed Ventures Advisors, LlcMenlo Park
Tau VenturesPalo Alto · $500K
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
1984 Ventures Management, Llcreported · 2 sourcesSan Francisco · $1M
Rethink Educationreported · 2 sourcesWhite Plains
Zeal Capital Partnersreported · 2 sourcesWashington · $250K – $2M
Also in the syndicate · 1
Ycombinator
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountseed roundMar 2026
1984 Ventures (lead), Rethink Education (lead), Zeal Capital Partners (lead), Ycombinator
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
The YC application· Summer 2024 batch
Alumni Q&A
- What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?
- The founders aim to lower non-medical barriers to care for Medicare patients by addressing both finding services and delivering them. They cite transportation for patients who no longer drive as an example, where relevant county, state, insurer, and non-profit programs are hard to find and have complex application paperwork. The company is building AI agents: an advocate agent that draws on collective advocate expertise and past patient encounters to recommend solutions, and a workflow agent that automates tasks like form completion and note-taking.
Summarized from the founders' answers on their Y Combinator profile.
Competitors · 3
by search overlapAARP841 shared keywordsAARP is a membership organization serving people aged 50 and older, offering benefits such as discounts, programs, newsletters, magazines, and community events. It also advocates on issues like Social Security and Medicare and provides resources on health, finances, and daily life.
Solace Health756 shared keywordsSolace provides patient advocacy services that help individuals navigate healthcare systems and secure treatments and approvals. The company connects patients with advocates who manage care coordination, approvals, and quality-of-life support, covered by insurance nationwide.
Chapter665 shared keywordsChapter is a Medicare advisory service that compares plans from insurance carriers to help enrollees select coverage, and provides ongoing support including a free over-the-counter benefits app with home delivery. It serves individuals navigating Medicare in the United States.
Companies competing with Understood Care for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Understood Care do?
- Understood Care provides patient advocacy services for older adults navigating healthcare, particularly Medicare benefits and care coordination. The company connects clients with trained advocates who help with claims, medication safety, transportation, and social services.
- Who founded Understood Care?
- Understood Care was founded by Samantha Wu, Kevin Bailey in 2025.
- Who are Understood Care's investors?
- Understood Care's investors include Informed Ventures Advisors, Llc, Tau Ventures, Y Combinator, 1984 Ventures Management, Llc, Rethink Education, Zeal Capital Partners.
- Where is Understood Care headquartered?
- Understood Care is headquartered in New York City, US.