Treating the Cause, Not Just the Symptoms: Why We Invested in Root

By Darcey Nett, HealthX Partner

We’re excited to welcome Root to the HealthX Ventures portfolio. I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on why we invested in this company, the mission driving the team, and our conviction in what Root is building at the intersection of functional medicine, proactive care, and long-term healthcare outcomes.

Chronic disease is one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare today. Six in ten American adults are living with at least one chronic condition, and employers are increasingly feeling the impact through rising healthcare costs. Yet our healthcare system is still largely designed to treat problems after they've developed rather than helping people understand what's causing them in the first place.That is what immediately stood out to us about Root. Their approach is centered on identifying and addressing the underlying causes of chronic conditions before they become bigger problems.

As the name suggests, Root is focused on identifying the underlying causes of chronic conditions rather than simply managing symptoms indefinitely. Too often, patients bounce between specialists who are each focused on one system or one symptom without looking at how everything connects. Hormones, gut health, migraines, inflammation, stress, autoimmune conditions—many of these issues are deeply interconnected, but traditional care models are not always designed to treat the body holistically.

Root is building a scalable model around functional medicine that helps people better understand their health through targeted testing, personalized care plans, nutrition guidance, supplements, and provider support. Most importantly, they are making this accessible through employers in a way that feels both practical and sustainable. Root fits nicely into two of our main investment categories at HealthX: consumer-powered, home/mobile health care and the future of healthcare work.

A More Proactive Approach to Health

One of the reasons we were drawn to Root is that the company reflects a broader shift we are seeing in healthcare: people increasingly want to be proactive about their health instead of waiting until problems escalate.

Root starts with a relatively simple but powerful concept: gather the right data early, uncover patterns, and create personalized action plans before chronic conditions worsen.

For some people, that may involve medication. For others, it could mean targeted supplements, nutrition changes, lifestyle adjustments, or additional specialist support. Often, it is a combination of approaches tailored to the individual.

What makes the model compelling is not just the philosophy—it is the outcomes. The testimonials from patients are incredibly powerful. Many people arrive at Root after years of trying to solve persistent health issues through traditional channels without success. Then, through Root’s process, they finally identify an underlying issue that had previously gone undetected.

One example that stood out to me came from a Root member who described life before joining the program. She was taking three different medications for an autoimmune condition, yet was still living with so much pain and fatigue that she struggled just to bend down and put on her shoes before driving her boys to school.

After six months with Root, she was living pain-free and had been able to work with her care team to come off those medications. Stories like that remind you this isn't simply about improving lab values or reducing healthcare costs. It's about helping people regain the energy, confidence, and quality of life to show up for their families and themselves every day.

Why the Employer Model Matters

Functional medicine has existed for years, but historically it has been fragmented, expensive, and difficult to scale. At the same time, employers are increasingly looking for ways to improve employee health while addressing the long-term costs associated with chronic disease. Root’s employer-focused approach changes that dynamic.

Most people would not independently seek out this type of care because it is often inaccessible or not covered. By partnering directly with employers, Root gives employees access to services they may never have otherwise considered or been able to afford.

At the same time, employers benefit as well. Many employers today are self-funded, meaning they directly absorb the costs of healthcare claims. Chronic conditions and long-term medication use can create enormous financial strain over time. If employees can proactively address underlying issues earlier, improve their health, and in some cases reduce dependence on expensive medications or repeated specialist visits, that creates meaningful value for both the employee and the employer.

It is one of the rare models where everyone involved wins.

Employees feel better, become more engaged in their own health, and gain access to highly personalized care. Employers see healthier teams and potentially lower long-term healthcare costs. And importantly, the model does not replace traditional care—it complements it.

Why We Believe Root Can Scale

A big part of our diligence process focused on why Root might succeed where others in functional medicine have struggled to scale.

What impressed us was the combination of technology, operational discipline, and standardization.

Root is not simply aggregating independent functional medicine clinics. Erica Armstrong and the team have built a structured operating system around care delivery. Providers are trained within Root’s protocols and care model, which creates consistency and allows the company to scale outcomes-driven care more effectively.

The technology platform also plays a major role. It allows Root to standardize care in a way that hasn't historically been possible in functional medicine. Providers spend their time where they add the most value, while the platform supports much of the ongoing member experience. That balance makes the model far more scalable without losing the personalized approach that makes functional medicine effective.That balance matters. It creates a significantly more scalable model while still maintaining a highly personalized experience.

The company has also built years of outcomes data and operational learnings into the platform. In healthcare, that kind of institutional knowledge becomes a real competitive advantage over time.

The Founder Behind the Vision

We spend a tremendous amount of time evaluating founders at HealthX, and Erica stood out immediately. Her background in both primary care and functional medicine gives her a unique perspective on where traditional healthcare models fall short and where patients are still being underserved. You can tell this mission is deeply personal to her, and that conviction comes through clearly when you speak with her.

At the same time, she brings the qualities we consistently look for in exceptional founders: she is driven, coachable, innovative, collaborative, and deeply thoughtful about building culture and team.

What was especially impressive to me was the traction she achieved before building out a formal sales organization. She grew the business largely through the strength of the product, customer outcomes, and referrals. The inbound interest from employers has been incredibly strong, and the customer references during diligence were some of the best we have heard. That kind of pull is difficult to manufacture.

It became clear to us that Root was not simply tapping into a temporary trend. The company is addressing a real market need with a model that resonates strongly with both employers and employees.

Why Now?

One of the questions we ask ourselves during every investment is, "Why is now the right time for this company?"

In Root's case, several trends are converging. Employers are looking for better ways to manage the long-term costs of chronic disease, while consumers are becoming more proactive about their health and increasingly interested in understanding the underlying causes of ongoing health issues. At the same time, technology is making it possible to deliver more personalized care at scale.

We believe Root is well positioned at the intersection of those trends.

How HealthX Plans to Support Root

At HealthX, we view ourselves as active partners, not just capital providers. As Root scales, we are supporting the company across several areas, including financial planning, go-to-market strategy, hiring, sales support, and employer introductions.

We have already worked closely with Erica and the team on areas like financial modeling, refining sales processes, and identifying key hires that will help the company scale efficiently through this next phase of growth.

We are also leveraging our network to introduce Root to employers who could benefit from the platform. Honestly, it has been incredibly easy to talk about Root because the value proposition is so intuitive and compelling. 

Root has the potential to make functional medicine accessible to far more people than it has traditionally reached. By partnering with employers, the company is bringing a proactive approach to healthcare to employees who might never have otherwise had access to it. That's an opportunity we believe has meaningful implications—not just for healthcare costs, but for the health and quality of life of millions of people. We're excited to partner with Erica and the entire Root team as they build what comes next.

Learn more about Root at rootfunctionalmedicine.com.