Cleveland's Graici raises $7.5 million Series A to automate medicaid renewals
Federal policy shifts threaten massive coverage losses by late 2026. The AI firm founded by Explorys' Steve McHale just raised a Series A to keep vulnerable populations enrolled—using agentic AI to navigate bureaucratic friction.
As federal policy threatens to trigger massive Medicaid coverage losses, a Cleveland AI firm just raised serious money to keep vulnerable populations enrolled.
Graici closed a $7.5 million Series A led by Santé Ventures, the Austin firm that recently deployed a $330 million healthtech fund. Santé's Dr. Joe Cunningham joins the board.
The details
Federal changes expected by late 2026 will shorten redetermination cycles and add work requirements — potentially causing millions to lose coverage due to paperwork errors rather than actual ineligibility.
Graici's Adaptive Data Wallet™ uses agentic AI to:
- Automate benefit renewals by navigating bureaucratic friction
- Aggregate health, economic, and personal data for eligibility verification
- Give individuals control while providing institutions verified intelligence
"Whole-life data reveals what fragmented systems cannot," said Graici founder and CEO Steve McHale. "Graici assembles and activates data agentically and ethically — so people get clarity and support at the speed of need, empowering institutions to serve with confidence and precision."
"Graici is exactly the kind of Cleveland-built company we love to back,” added Todd Federman, Managing Director of North Coast Ventures. "This round signals that automation in Medicaid eligibility is becoming a must-have, not a nice-to-have."
The background
This is a reunion story. Cunningham backed McHale's previous venture Explorys, the healthcare data company IBM acquired in 2015. McHale has spent two decades proving he can turn data infrastructure into commercial wins.
Graici operates as the commercial arm of nonprofit UnifyWork — positioning it to work with both state Medicaid programs and private health plans.
What to watch
Medicaid "unwinding" is typically framed as a crisis. Graici is betting it's a market opportunity — with a consent-based, AI-native solution that reduces waste while keeping people covered.
