Shai Basys and Claire Chen are building the Verification Layer for Healthcare AI in Chicago. In October 2026, CareLumi closed an oversubscribed $2.5 million pre-seed round led by Izou Partners.
"There is a national shortage of medical providers. Patients wait for care while a qualified provider waits months to be verified, licensed, enrolled to bill insurance, and privileged to access a healthcare facility."
CareLumi, announcing its round, October 2026
The people doing this work want AI to take on the administrative load, so they can focus on patient safety and the judgment calls only they can make. But when AI gets something wrong, patients, health system presidents, CIOs and CEOs all ask the same question: who is accountable?
"AI is entering healthcare fast, and we know it can do the work. But healthcare organizations must be able to prove the output is correct, because these decisions determine whether a patient receives treatment, a clinician can practice, and a facility is paid."
CareLumi automates medical licensing, credentialing, enrollment and privileging end to end, and checks the work of the AI and software customers already use.
One system for credentialing, licensing, privileging, payer enrollment, monitoring and compliance. AI does the heavy administrative lifting, and the customer's team steps in for review, human verification and final sign-off.
Organizations and platforms can run their own AI and software through CareLumi's APIs. The system logs every action people and AI take and checks it against authoritative sources and the rules in force. Any failure is traced to where it happened and who is accountable.
Who it's for: solo providers, group practices, staffing and locum agencies, health systems, MSOs, IPAs and physician alliances, and digital health platforms.
CareLumi launched out of the University of Chicago, and the team brings more than 20 years of building healthcare, federal and financial automation solutions.
Shai Basys, co-founder and CEO, is a former US diplomat who designed AI and ML systems at PwC, Guidehouse and Cisco across federal, healthcare and physical AI evaluations. He holds a Chicago Booth MBA, a Duke MS in Data Science and a Georgetown BS in Economics and Philosophy, and he leads CareLumi's work on deterministic, auditable compliance architecture for healthcare AI. Shai is also a former Chicago:Blend Fellow.
Claire Chen, co-founder and COO, holds a PhD in Finance and a Chicago Booth MBA with concentrations in healthcare and entrepreneurship, and she leads finance, operations, hiring and compliance at CareLumi. Before CareLumi, she worked with early-stage healthcare and life-science ventures, including SlideFlow, an AI pathology startup that won first place in the New Venture Challenge, and Signl, a University of Chicago life-science spinout.
CareLumi is also guided by people who know the work firsthand: Dr. Mohammad Arfeen, an interventional endoscopist and co-founder of WellForge Ventures, Christian Franklin, with more than 25 years leading credentialing and medical staff services, and Latisha Adams, with more than 25 years in healthcare analytics and clinical information systems at major health plans.
"We were intentional about raising our first round in Chicago. The ecosystem here is collaborative and supportive, and Chicago is home."
With coaching and introductions from LongJump alongside it.
CareLumi enrolled Frado AI's pathology diagnostic lab with Medicare ahead of the six-to-nine-month industry benchmark, and opened API access to digital health platforms. Read the Frado case study
"CareLumi got our therapists billable in weeks instead of months. It runs the payer follow-up that used to consume our entire back office, we just watch providers go active."Martin Beck, Founder and CEO, Anda Health
Anda Health, Blue Light Health, Bluerock Care, Frado AI and Hope Everyday. CareLumi also launched the 2027 Healthcare AI Verification Survey, asking who is accountable when healthcare organizations use AI.
Izou Partners led it, and Fifth Star Funds, LongJump, Wellforge, SCS Innovations, University of Chicago Booth, Illinois DCEO and Chicago Early Growth Ventures also invested. The funding will help CareLumi get providers to patients sooner and make sure the AI used across healthcare's administrative and clinical work is verified.
CareLumi's 2027 Healthcare AI Verification Survey report comes out in January. Sign up with CareLumi for early access.
The product, the customers and the round are CareLumi's work. Our part came first.
Fifth Star Funds is a nonprofit that writes the first check at the very start: $25,000 on a standard SAFE, as catalytic capital, with coaching and introductions from our partner LongJump. Every return we get goes out to the next founder.
Updates on the founders we back and the work behind the checks.
