Lark Health’s Julia Hu Selected for Competitive EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America Class of 2021

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. —  November 8, 2021 – EY announced today that Julia Hu, CEO and co-founder of Lark Health, is one of the women founders selected for the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ North America Class of 2021. The program, in its 14th year, identifies ambitious women entrepreneurs who are leading thriving organizations and provides the access, advisors and resources needed to scale their companies to their full potential and ultimately become leading market innovators. Program engagement offers participants executive education and introductions to the vast EY global entrepreneurial ecosystem as well as the Entrepreneurial Winning Women community worldwide.

“I know firsthand how important it is for people to receive compassionate and high-touch care, and I’ve dedicated most of my career to developing technology that improves the healthcare experience for people living with chronic conditions,” said Julia Hu, co-founder and CEO of Lark. “Together, the Lark team has revolutionized how we deliver healthcare through our AI technology that is infinitely scalable, accessible, and affordable. I am deeply grateful to EY for this recognition and honored to join this class of incredible, ambitious entrepreneurs.”

This year’s class of women-led high-growth companies across the US and Canada span a variety of industries, with a particularly strong showing in companies offering sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. The companies are also concentrated on tech-driven solutions across industries ranging from higher education to executive coaching, food and beverage, health and wellness, and more. The judging panel for the Class of 2021 consisted of Beth Ferreira, General Partner at FirstMark Capital; Naomi Whittel, founder of Reservage Nutrition and best-selling author; David Liu, serial entrepreneur and advisor; and Lara O’Connor Hodgson, co-founder and CEO of Now Corp. 

“We are proud to welcome another class of driven, strategic and ambitious founders into the EY entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Maranda Bruckner, Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America Program Lead, Ernst & Young LLP. “We are honored to have the opportunity to foster these entrepreneurs with resources, guidance and community to help them scale their businesses, support their missions and reach their goals.” The Class of 2021 will be officially recognized this week during the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies.

The North America program targets women business owners who are founding CEOs of any US or Canadian privately held company that is 10 years old or younger. Company revenues typically range from at least $2m to as much as $30m annually. 

“It is crucial that we focus on women business owners and encourage female entrepreneurship,” said 

EY Americas Solutions Leader Cheryl Grise, who also serves as the Entrepreneurial Winning Women North America Executive Sponsor. “The Winning Women program exemplifies how, when systemic barriers are removed, women-led businesses can reach their full potential and spur immediate and long-lasting impact across sectors and the globe. The successes women founders who are part of this community have built individually and with each other are numerous and impressive. We are proud to be part of their journey.”

On an ongoing basis, Entrepreneurial Winning Women take part in additional workshops, conferences and training sessions. They become part of the EY global community of more than 800 Entrepreneurial Winning Women in 49 countries and on every continent, forging connections with our vast community of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ alumni throughout the world. In a recent survey, when asked about the program’s impact on their success, 80% of Winning Women said it had a positive impact on their confidence and leadership to grow their businesses. Meanwhile, 66% said the program helped them grow and lead their team, and over half indicated the program impacted their willingness to take risks to scale their business.

“For more than 35 years, EY has been associated with great entrepreneurs worldwide,” said Lee Henderson, Americas EY Private Leader. “It is a privilege to be a part of these entrepreneurs’ business journeys. We believe opportunity available to any entrepreneur should be available to every entrepreneur, and the Entrepreneurial Winning Women program helps support our goal of closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship.”

EY’s selection comes less than a month after Julia’s induction into the UCSF Health Awards Hall of Fame, a recognition that identifies her as a top innovator in the world of digital health. This recognition also follows the recent closing of a $100 million Series D funding round led by Deerfield Management Company, an infusion of capital that Lark plans to use to expand its virtual care integrations to more payers and to continue advancing its innovative data science and conversational AI. 

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About Lark Health

Lark is a healthcare technology company aimed at delivering infinitely scalable, virtual chronic and preventative healthcare through conversational AI. To date, Lark has provided nearly 2 million people with unlimited, 24/7 personalized care delivered through an easy-to-use, text message-like interface that integrates remote patient monitoring tools and is built on a cognitive behavioral therapy framework. Lark’s platform seamlessly integrates with health plans’ and employers’ existing healthcare infrastructure to help them scale their chronic disease prevention and management programs, boost engagement, and improve health outcomes. Lark currently works with many of the largest health plans and across four programs: Prevention, Diabetes Prevention, Diabetes Care, and Hypertension Care. Lark's Diabetes Prevention Program, which is the fastest growing and lowest cost DPP, has received the highest level of clinical recognition—Full Recognition—from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company has received numerous accolades, including having been named as one of CB Insights Digital Health 150 (2019), a finalist for the UCSF Digital Health Awards (2020), one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies (multiple years), and one of Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 (2020). To learn more, visit www.lark.com.

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About EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ 

The EY organization is committed to seeing women lead. EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ is a global program for successful women entrepreneurs whose businesses show more potential to scale. Through access to EY professionals and global EY networks throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem, pioneering women founders on every continent secure the resources, advice, operational know-how, contacts and community they need to unleash their ambitions, expand their companies to full potential and become the role models they never had. ey.com/winningwomen

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