Evaluating only Cricket Health’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Founded; CKD peer coaching + care navigation model
FUNDING
Raised $35M; 50K+ patients enrolled
FUNDING
COVID accelerated telehealth adoption; raised Series C
Acquired by Interwell Health in distressed deal; most investors wiped
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Cricket Health built a peer-support and care navigation network for chronic kidney disease patients, helping them delay or avoid dialysis. It raised $83 million and enrolled over 50,000 patients. The clinical results were real — Cricket demonstrably delayed dialysis initiation. The business problem: disease management programs save money for insurance payers but those payers are notoriously slow and adversarial in structuring value-based payment arrangements. Cricket couldn't capture enough of the savings it generated. In 2022, it was acquired by Interwell Health in a distressed deal that returned minimal value to investors.
Lesson
“Disease management programs save money for payers but those payers are not structured to share savings with startups. Real clinical outcomes do not automatically translate to business viability.”