Harbor Health, an Austin, Texas, company that runs primary and specialty care clinics and sells its own health insurance, acquired Rippl, a Seattle startup that provides dementia care for older adults. The deal was announced on February 10, 2026, and Rippl's law firm, Orrick, said on February 17 that the acquisition had been completed.
Financial terms were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, Rippl's investors are making a new financial commitment to the combined company. They include Kin Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, General Catalyst, GV, F-Prime Capital, JSL Health and Mass General Brigham Ventures.
Rippl's dementia program will be offered to patients at Harbor Health and VillageMD clinics in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso. Rippl will keep serving its existing Medicare Advantage members and traditional Medicare patients enrolled through the federal GUIDE dementia care program, and the deal extends Harbor Health's services into Florida.
What Rippl built
Rippl aims to keep people living with dementia at home and out of emergency rooms, hospitals and post-acute care. It offers clinical support around the clock by phone, online and in the home, along with care plans, care coordination and technology meant to spot medical and behavioural problems early. Orrick said Rippl works with the Alzheimer's Association to provide 24/7 support to patients and caregivers.
The company is paid through health plans and Medicare. It takes part in GUIDE, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services model for dementia care that has 390 participating organisations, according to Healthcare Innovation.
Kris Engskov, Rippl's co-founder and chief executive, said the company was created to keep seniors with dementia and their caregivers at home and out of the emergency department and hospital. He added that dementia care works best when it is closely tied to primary care.
“We created Rippl to keep seniors with dementia and their caregivers at home and out of the emergency department and hospital.”
The founders and the funding
Engskov previously served as president of Starbucks Coffee U.S. and as president of the assisted living operator Aegis Living. Rippl's other co-founders were Inca Dieterich and Robert Nelsen, a managing director at ARCH Venture Partners who became board chair.
Rippl launched publicly in 2022 with a $32 million seed round led by ARCH Venture Partners and General Catalyst, with GV, F-Prime Capital and Mass General Brigham Ventures also investing. The 2022 funding was earmarked for hiring and training clinicians, building technology and opening a clinical support centre in Seattle. In October 2024 it raised a $23 million Series A led by Kin Ventures, bringing its total funding to $55 million, GeekWire reported. At the time it said it planned to expand into Arizona, California and Florida.
Why Harbor Health is buying
Harbor Health was co-founded by Tony Miller, its chief executive, and Clay Johnston, the founding dean of the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. The company combines clinics with its own insurance products and organises care around specific conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic back, knee and hip pain. In a December 2024 interview cited by Healthcare Innovation, Johnston said Harbor was trying to build a whole operating system for care, and criticised the fee-for-service payment model that shapes how clinicians work.
Rippl becomes another of these condition-focused care pathways. Miller said the pathways help Harbor keep coverage affordable as membership in its health plan grows, and that Rippl's platform gives its clinical teams another way to manage patients with complex needs.
The deal builds on Harbor Health's 2025 purchase of 32 clinics from VillageMD. With Rippl, Harbor Health also begins offering services in Florida.
What happens to patients
Harbor Health did not announce changes to Rippl's leadership or brand. Patients covered through Medicare Advantage plans and through the GUIDE model will continue to receive Rippl's services, while Harbor Health and VillageMD patients in its four Texas markets gain access to the dementia program.
Engskov said he expected Harbor Health to scale Rippl's platform as part of its wider push for condition-focused care, with the aim of improving outcomes while cutting unnecessary costs. Miller said taking better care of people while keeping coverage affordable was the company's priority.
