Watsi
| Company type | Nonprofit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Healthcare crowdfunding |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Chase Adam, Grace Garey, Jesse Cooke, Howard Glenn |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Key people | Chase Adam (CEO), Jon Skaggs (Advisor), Paul Graham (Advisor) |
Number of employees | 5 (2014) |
| Website | https://watsi.org |
Watsi, Inc. is a nonprofit organization specializing in healthcare crowdfunding, designed to link individual contributors directly with patients in developing nations where affordable medical services are scarce. Established in 2011 by Chase Adam, Grace Garey, Jesse Cooke, and Howard Glenn, Watsi functions as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity based in San Francisco, California.
This platform facilitates transparent financial support for medical procedures by enabling donors to fund specific patients' treatments. By 2014, Watsi had generated approximately $3 million in revenue with expenditures near $2 million, operating with a compact staff of five employees alongside ten volunteers. Leadership is headed by CEO Chase Adam, with advisory roles filled by figures such as Jon Skaggs and Paul Graham.
Watsi’s operational strategy capitalizes on crowdfunding to efficiently bridge healthcare deficiencies worldwide, emphasizing humanitarian outcomes through technology-enhanced donor participation in underserved regions.
Background
As the first nonprofit organization to be backed by the seed accelerator Y Combinator, Watsi also received funding from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. In November 2015, it completed a $3.5 million fundraising round spearheaded by a group of twelve investors including Paul Graham, Tencent, and The Pershing Square Foundation.
The organization collaborates with numerous medical partners such as Nyaya Health, Dr. Rick Hodes, Wuqu' Kawoq, Children's Surgical Centre, CURE International, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, Hope for West Africa, Project Muso, Lwala Community Alliance, Living Hope Haiti, Floating Doctors, Burma Border Projects, Partner for Surgery, International Care Ministries, The Kellermann Foundation, and World Altering Medicine.
In 2014, following a trademark conflict with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Watsi updated its logo from a blue cross featuring a white triangle to a design consisting of white triangles inside a blue circle.