Peppermint secures $4.7M seed round for AI-driven clinical trial payments
Peppermint, a San Francisco clinical research startup, has raised $4.7 million in seed funding. The company uses AI to automate billing and track unpaid invoices so hospitals and research sites can collect payments faster. Moxxie led the round, with Homebrew, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Layout Ventures, Digital Health Venture Partners, Night Capital, and angel investors participating.
Peppermint, based in San Francisco, has raised $4.7 million in seed funding led by Moxxie. Other backers include Homebrew, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Layout Ventures, Digital Health Venture Partners, Night Capital, and angels Benjamin Mann and Evan Moore. The startup targets slow payment cycles in clinical research, where hospitals and research sites can wait months for completed work.
Founded by David Freeman and VJ Thurimella, fintech veterans from X1, a credit card company acquired by Robinhood, Peppermint links to existing trial management systems. Its AI checks completed tasks against contracts and payment records, generates invoices, flags unpaid balances, and supports collections with billing specialists. The company reports faster revenue collection, fewer overdue invoices, and recovered staff time.
Faster clinical trial payments could ease cash-flow pressure on hospitals and research sites, potentially helping them sustain studies and devote more staff time to patients and research. Sponsors and contract research organizations may gain cleaner financial data, which could improve oversight and reduce administrative friction. If adopted widely, such tools may influence how research funding flows, though benefits would depend on accuracy, integration, and whether savings reach frontline care and trial participants.