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Thatch: The startup putting health care choices back in employees’ hands

San Francisco-based startup Thatch is on a mission to revolutionize the health insurance experience for employers and employees alike. The company recently raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, SemperVirens, PeopleTech Partners, The General Partnership, and new investor ADP Ventures. Since its founding in October 2021, Thatch has raised a total of $84.5 million in equity funding.

Giving Employees Real Freedom with ICHRA

Thatch enables employers to offer ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) — a model that allows employers to allocate a health budget (e.g., $1,000 per month) to each employee. The employee can then spend it on a personalized insurance plan or medical expenses. Unlike traditional HRAs, ICHRA also covers insurance premiums — giving users far more flexibility.

A Marketplace for Personalized Insurance

Thatch operates a user-friendly platform where employees can choose from various insurance plans. Any remaining funds can be spent on health-related costs. The company even provides a debit card to help employees easily use their balance. If an employee is unhappy with one insurer, they can switch seamlessly through the Thatch system.

Where Health Meets Fintech

Founders Chris Ellis and Adam Stevenson come from strong healthcare and tech backgrounds. Ellis is a former cancer researcher at MIT and product expert at Agilent Technologies, while Stevenson worked at Humana and later Stripe. They believe making ICHRA work means solving fintech challenges like budgeting, payments, reimbursements, and real-time tracking.

To build the necessary infrastructure, Thatch brought in talent from top companies like Stripe, Rippling, and Ramp. Today, the company has 72 employees.

Rapid Growth and Trusted Clients

Launched in August 2023, Thatch has already onboarded over 1,000 companies, with 8x year-over-year revenue growth. Clients include Dave’s Hot Chicken, Jersey Mike’s, Fragment.dev, Ferry Health, and more.

Thatch has also partnered with QuickBooks, enabling small businesses to set up ICHRA accounts directly within the platform. A similar integration with ADP is in progress.

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