Leona
Category: AI in Healthcare
An AI-powered clinical co-pilot integrated directly into WhatsApp designed to help physicians in Latin America manage patient communications, automate administrative tasks, and structure medical data. Leona was founded in 2023. The company is led by Caroline Merin. Based in Mexico City, Mexico. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $14.0M. Latest round: Seed round ($14.0M, Dec 2024). Key investors include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, Accel, David Vélez, Simón Borrero.
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $14.0M
Value proposition
Reduces physician burnout and administrative overhead by transforming unstructured WhatsApp chats into structured clinical records and automated workflows without requiring doctors to switch to a separate, complex EHR system.
Products and solutions
WhatsApp AI Co-pilot (Clinical Assistant), Automated Medical Scribe & Note Generation, Patient Triage & Scheduling Automation, Digital Medical Record Indexing, Follow-up & Prescription Management Tools
Unique value
Unlike traditional Electronic Health Records (EHR) that require doctors to change their behavior, Leona integrates into WhatsApp—the primary communication tool for doctors in LatAm—effectively turning a 'chaos' channel into a structured clinical tool.
Target customer
Independent physicians, medical specialists, and small-to-medium sized clinics in Latin America who rely on WhatsApp for patient management.
Industries served
Healthcare, HealthTech, Digital Health, Artificial Intelligence
Technology advantage
Leverages proprietary AI models optimized for medical terminology in Spanish and Portuguese; founded by a leadership team with deep experience scaling LatAm unicorns (Rappi, Uber Eats, Nubank), providing a significant operational and regional distribution advantage.
How they differentiate
Leona differentiates by integrating directly into WhatsApp, the primary communication tool for doctors in Latin America, rather than forcing them into a standalone EHR. It uses AI to transform unstructured chat data into structured clinical records.
Main competitors
Nabla, Abridge, Nimbo, Doctoralia
Key partnerships
Meta/WhatsApp (Platform integration), Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) & General Catalyst (Lead Investors), Strategic angel network including founders of Nubank and Rappi for regional market penetration
Notable customers
Independent physicians in Mexico, Specialist medical clinics in LatAm
Major milestones
Founded in 2023 by former Rappi and Uber Eats executives, Launched the first AI clinical co-pilot integrated with WhatsApp for the LatAm market, Raised $14M Seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz in December 2024
Growth metrics
Actively scaling its user base among independent physicians and clinics in Mexico following its 2024 Seed round.
Market positioning
Seed-stage HealthTech disruptor focused on the Latin American physician market.
Geographic focus
Latin America (primarily Mexico)
Patents and IP
No registered patents disclosed as of latest update; focus is on proprietary software architecture and fine-tuned LLM implementations.
About Caroline Merin
Caroline Merin is the Founder and CEO of Leona. She previously served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Rappi and was the General Manager for Uber Eats in Latin America, where she led the business across multiple countries. Her background is rooted in scaling on-demand services and digital platforms in emerging markets.
Official website: https://www.leona.health/