ImpactAlpha, January 21 — For years, Marcus Whitney has been the only Black healthcare venture capital partner in Nashville, a city awash in healthcare VC funds.  Since 2015, Jumpstart Health Investors, where Whitney is head of strategy, has invested in more than 150 early-stage healthcare companies.

Whitney has long known there is a major venture capital allocation gap to Black healthcare founders that needed closing. His latest project, Jumpstart Nova, raised $55 million this week to invest exclusively in Black healthcare founders, including from healthcare heavyweights like Eli Lilly, HCA Healthcare, Cardinal Health, Atrium Health and Henry Ford Health System.