Rivio, a healthtech startup using artificial intelligence to improve hospital management, has formed a nine-member advisory board of healthcare and technology executives. The group will support the company as it expands from revenue cycle operations into workforce, bed, and supply management. Founded in 2025, Rivio has announced US$21 million in funding since late 2025.
Advisory Board Composition
The board includes Henrique Neves, director general of Einstein and vice president of the Anahp board; Paulo Chapchap, former director general of Sírio-Libanês and medical director at IEPS; and José Marcelo de Oliveira, president of Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz. Technology leaders include Mat Velloso, director of products at Docker with experience at Microsoft, Google DeepMind, and Meta, and River Mist, cofounder of Weights. Weights was acquired by OpenAI, according to Rivio.
Additional Advisory Expertise
Additional members are Teresa Sacchetta, former technology director at Fleury and vice president of Saúde Digital Brasil; Luiz De Luca, who held leadership roles at hospitals 9 de Julho and Samaritano; Gustavo Meirelles, vice president at Afya; and Fernando Carneiro, senior partner at Vila Nova Partners. The group combines hospital operations, digital health, and executive search expertise. Rivio said these advisors will monitor its strategy as it enters new operational areas.
Operational Expansion and Market Context
Rivio was founded in 2025 by Silvio Frison and Ricardo Sales. It combines artificial intelligence with specialists to identify failures in the hospital revenue cycle, from billing for services to receiving payment from health insurers. The company now plans to apply its technology to staff scheduling, bed allocation, and supply chain management.
Financial Pressure on Hospitals
Pressure on hospital cash flow supports Rivio’s expansion thesis. According to Observatório Anahp 2026, based on 2025 data, the EBITDA margin of analyzed institutions fell from 11.7% to 11.1%, while average patient stay declined to 3.8 days. The company sees these pressures as evidence that operational inefficiencies directly affect investment capacity.
Payment Disputes and Collection Rates
Payment disputes with health plans are a major factor. Initial claim denials, the portion of bills refused by insurers before negotiation, reached 15.9% in 2025, up from 11.9% in 2023. The hospital collections index fell from 91.3% to 85.8% during the same period, meaning hospitals are collecting a smaller share of billed amounts.
Payment Timing and Cash Flow
Payment timing also weighs on hospitals. In 2025, hospitals took an average of 77.4 days to receive payments from insurers, about seven days longer than in the previous year, while they paid suppliers in 48.3 days. The roughly 29 day gap must be financed by the institutions themselves, reducing resources available for people, equipment, beds, and technology.
Executive Perspective
Silvio Frison, CEO of Rivio, said that when a hospital loses efficiency in billing, contracts, processes, or data, the effect goes beyond finance. He noted that lost resources and investment capacity become unavailable for people, equipment, beds, and technology. This view underpins the company’s move beyond revenue cycle management as it seeks broader hospital operations.
Funding and Valuation
Since late 2025, Rivio has announced US$21 million in investments. This includes US$20 million from Valor Capital Group, Monashees, and Endeavor Catalyst, followed by US$1 million from Positive Ventures. The company reports that its valuation exceeds R$500 million, and the capital will support product development and expansion into new hospital management functions.
Rivio’s new advisory board signals an effort to pair healthcare leadership with technology expertise as it broadens its product scope. The company’s early funding and valuation show investor confidence in AI-driven hospital management. If its expansion succeeds, Rivio could address a growing financial challenge for Brazilian hospitals, particularly in revenue cycle management and hospital operations.
Source: Exame