Yusuf Sherwani
InvestorFounderFounder at Octopus Ventures
New York City
Writes $5K – $50K checks · typically $25K
FoundedPelago · YC
About
Yusuf Sherwani is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pelago, a digital clinic for substance use care. Born and raised in London, he studied Medicine (MD) and Management (BSc) at Imperial College London before bootstrapping two startups, one of which had a modest exit and one that failed. He now angel invests in early-stage founders with a healthcare bias, backing companies such as Curebase, Healthie, firsthand, and Replit. He is an avid reader who set a goal in 2015 to read a book every two weeks and writes about business, biographies, and AI.
Yusuf Sherwani @ysherwani
I would have paid real money to have had access to this during med school. Incredible! https://t.co/I5N1A4x5Gv
Aug 2, 2026
Yusuf Sherwani @ysherwani
Capital has piled into the administrative layer of healthcare because it feels safer and more obvious. But the power law does not reward safe. Most of the money is chasing the smaller prize. The first $100 billion health-tech company will be a vertically integrated clinical AI https://t.co/5P3eOz2ihs
Jul 1, 2026 · ♥ 3
Yusuf Sherwani @ysherwani
We’ve been using team-based agents in slack channels for 6+ months now (Letta then OpenClaw). The unlock isn’t just speed - it’s also continuity. When context and memory are handled well, the agent becomes a real team member. New hires onboard faster. And when someone leaves, https://t.co/BXHyLSXiBD
May 12, 2026 · ♥ 3
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded and leads Pelago, a digital clinic for substance use care. Bootstrapped two earlier startups, one of which had a modest exit and one that failed.
- Education
- Studied Medicine (MD) and Management (BSc) at Imperial College London.
- Communities
- Ran a book club at Quit Genius that read titles such as Human Compatible.
- Hobbies
- Sets a reading goal of one book every two weeks, inspired by a 2015 challenge, and publishes book reviews and recommendations.
- Family
- Was born and raised in London, UK, and now lives in New York City.
From Yusuf's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Founder/CEO at PelagoYC W18
Intro paths
Yusuf went through Y Combinator (Winter 2018) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
In turn, Yusuf can intro founders to Pelago's investors below.
Pelago's investors · 8
Co-founders at Pelago
Experience
- PelagoCo-Founder & CEOcurrent2017 — presentNew York, United States
- NHS EnglandClinical Entrepreneur Fellow2017 — 2020London Area, United Kingdom
- Wellcome TrustClinical Research Intern2014St Mary's Hospital
Education
- Imperial College LondonDoctor of Medicine - MD, Medicine2011 — 2017
- Imperial Business SchoolBachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons), Healthcare Management2013 — 2014
- Y CombinatorW18 Batch2018
Same school
Also attended Imperial College London295
+ 289 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Pelago7
+ 1 more
Also worked at NHS England4
.avif)
Also worked at Wellcome Trust8
+ 2 more
Investments
Investor
AnteriorCurebaseFinni HealthfirsthandHealthieMercuryMytosReplitSafiSequence
Per the investor's own website.
