Lynne Chou O'Keefe

Founder & Managing Partner

Reviewed Updated Jun 28, 2026

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Location San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Check Size $750K-$6M+
Last Verified Investment 9amHealth (Series B) — May 13, 2026
Social LinkedIn
Stage Focus
incubation seed series-a series-b
Sector Focus
digital-health healthcare healthtech telemedicine chronic-disease womens-health mental-health behavioral-health virtual-care

Background

Lynne Chou O’Keefe is the Founder and Managing Partner of Define Ventures, an early-stage digital health venture capital firm she launched in January 2020 12. Define Ventures focuses exclusively on health tech companies at the incubation, seed, Series A, and Series B stages, and manages approximately $800 million in assets under management as of 2023 34.

Prior to founding Define Ventures, Chou O’Keefe was a Senior Partner at Kleiner Perkins, which she joined in 2013 as part of its life sciences group, focusing on digital health and connected devices 25. While at Kleiner Perkins, she served on the board of Livongo Health, which was later acquired by Teladoc for $18.5 billion 25. Before her venture career, she spent roughly six years at Abbott Vascular and Guidant in product and marketing leadership roles, where she led the commercial launches of more than ten medical device product families in the U.S. and internationally 56. Earlier, she worked at Apax Partners on enterprise software venture investing and at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers and Acquisitions group 15.

Chou O’Keefe holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School 15. She has been named to the Wall Street Journal’s “Women in Venture Capital to Watch” list (2020) 5.

Stated Thesis

Define Ventures publicly positions itself as a digital health specialist firm that partners with founders from day zero. On the firm’s website, Chou O’Keefe is quoted: “Collaborating with founders to figure out how to take an idea and scale it to build a meaningful business that benefits all of our lives is the most rewarding role I have ever had” 1.

In a 2023 interview marking the firm’s $460 million fund close, she described the opportunity as follows: “The healthcare system is evolving rapidly as multiple healthcare, technology and consumer trends converge, and even with the progress over the last few years, it remains a $4 trillion market opportunity that desperately needs greater digital transformation” 3.

She has summarized the firm’s approach as: “We really focus on the convergence of healthcare” and “We invest in both incubation, seed, Series A and Series B” 4. She has emphasized that her firm’s pitch evaluation centers on use cases over technology: “It’s never about the technology. It’s about the use case” 4.

Inferred Thesis

This analysis is based on 11 verified Define Ventures portfolio companies identified through primary sources (firm website, press releases, and contemporaneous press coverage). Sample size is small relative to the firm’s roughly 21 active investments 7, so percentages below are presented as counts rather than ratios.

Sector concentration: exclusively digital health, with sub-sector breadth. All 11 verified portfolio companies operate in healthcare. Sub-sectors include: - Consumer / direct-to-consumer healthcare: Hims & Hers, Tia, Folx Health (3 of 11) - Health system / provider infrastructure: DexCare, Laudio, Cohere Health, Unite Us (4 of 11) - Chronic disease management: 9amHealth, Livongo (2 of 11) - Behavioral health: Concert Health (1 of 11) - Clinical data / life sciences: Verana Health (1 of 11)

Stages: predominantly seed through Series B, with a willingness to incubate. Chou O’Keefe has stated check sizes range from $750,000 to over $6 million 2, consistent with seed and Series A leads. Folx Health was incubated by Define Ventures 8, and DexCare was incubated at Providence and spun out with Define as Series A lead 9.

Behavior: routinely leads rounds despite VCSheet listing. Verified leads include DexCare Series A (2021) 9, Concert Health Series B (2022) 10, and 9amHealth Series B (2026) 11. Define also participated as a non-lead in Tia’s Series A (Threshold Ventures led) 12 and Cohere Health’s Series C (Temasek led) 13.

Board participation pattern. Chou O’Keefe takes board seats on lead investments: she joined the boards of DexCare (2021) 9, 9amHealth (2026) 11, and Hims & Hers (pre-IPO, November 2020) 14. She was a director of Livongo from her Kleiner Perkins years 25.

Geographic focus: U.S. All verified portfolio companies are U.S.-based. VCSheet lists geography as “USA” 7.

Notable patterns. Define Ventures has incubated multiple consumer-healthcare companies (Folx 8), and per founder Tom Stanis the firm provided meaningful day-zero partnership to his company as well 15.

Portfolio

The table below lists Define Ventures investments verified through primary sources. This is approximately half of the firm’s roughly 21 active portfolio companies 7 — additional companies are listed on the firm website without verifiable round details.

Company Year Stage Source
Hims & Hers 2020 (board joined) Pre-IPO / public 14
Tia 2020 Series A 12
Folx Health 2020 Incubation / Series A 8
Unite Us 2020 Early stage 24
Verana Health 2020 Early stage 2
Lightship 2020 Early stage 2
DexCare 2021 Series A (led) 9
Concert Health 2022 Series B (led) 10
Laudio 2023 Early stage 4
Cohere Health 2025 Series C (participated) 13
9amHealth 2026 Series B (led) 11

Note: Livongo is referenced by Define Ventures as a notable exit the team contributed to, but Chou O’Keefe’s Livongo board seat and investment originated during her tenure at Kleiner Perkins 25, not from a Define Ventures fund.

In Their Own Words

On founding Define Ventures and serving healthcare founders:

“Digital health entrepreneurs deserve investors that have real digital health expertise and experience in building companies in the space. Define Ventures needed to be created because entrepreneurs need focus, expertise, and networks to succeed in their vision of defining healthcare.” 4

On evaluating pitches:

“It’s never about the technology. It’s about the use case.” 4

On the healthcare opportunity (2023 fund announcement):

“The healthcare system is evolving rapidly as multiple healthcare, technology and consumer trends converge, and even with the progress over the last few years, it remains a $4 trillion market opportunity that desperately needs greater digital transformation.” 3

On the value of being a specialist investor (from a TechCrunch interview at fund launch):

“A lot of founders have said, ‘It’s so nice not to have to explain the space to you.’ Having true partnerships is something they’ve needed.” 2

On the rationale for investing in DexCare:

“DexCare’s unique solution to make digitally-enabled care more discoverable and actionable for consumers, while at the same time making it effective for health systems, is the kind of solution that will lead to a better healthcare system for everyone.” 9

On joining the Hims & Hers board pre-IPO:

“Hims & Hers has proven to be one of the category defining leaders in digital health… I look forward to joining the Hims & Hers Board as the company works to build a better healthcare experience.” 14

What Founders Say

Dan Brillman, Co-founder and CEO of Unite Us:

“In the early stages of our company, Define Ventures stood out to us as a partner because its team has an established network from all corners of the healthcare ecosystem from providers to payers.” 4

Spencer Hutchins, CEO of Concert Health (on the firm’s Series B lead):

“Effecting sustained improvement in the US healthcare system is hard work. At Concert Health, we prioritized finding an investment partner who truly shared in our vision to build not just a valuable organization, but a transformational one. The Define Ventures team has already shown to be a great partner and we’re glad to have them in our corner.” 10

Tom Stanis, Founder (in a public post about appearing on Lynne’s podcast):

“Really fun conversation with Lynne Chou O’Keefe at @definevc who has been a great partner.” 15

Andrew Dudum, CEO of Hims & Hers (on her board appointment):

“Lynne and David both have tremendous experience leading and nurturing fast-growing businesses and we’re excited to add to our Board as we prepare to enter the next chapter of Hims & Hers.” 14

Connections

Verified professional connections beyond co-investment relationships:

  • Board member, Hims & Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) — joined Board of Directors November 2020, pre-IPO via Oaktree Acquisition Corp. SPAC merger 14
  • Board member, DexCare — joined Series A board March 2021, alongside CEO Derek Streat, co-founder Sean O’Connor, and Aaron Martin (EVP and Chief Digital Officer, Providence) 9
  • Board member, 9amHealth — joined Series B board May 2026, alongside CEO Frank Westermann 11
  • Former board member, Livongo Health (NASDAQ: LVGO) — board seat held during Kleiner Perkins tenure 25
  • Former Board of Directors, California Health Care Foundation 1
  • Former Senior Partner, Kleiner Perkins (2013-2019) — life sciences group, focused on digital health and connected devices 12
  • Former roles at Abbott Vascular, Guidant, Apax Partners, and Goldman Sachs M&A 15
  • Co-host, Day Zero podcast (Health Podcast Network / Think Medium) — podcast appearances include conversations with portfolio founders 1516
  • Speaker, HLTH Conference (2024) 17

Sources

  1. Lynne Chou O’Keefe, Founder & Managing Partner — Define Ventures team page, accessed June 2026. https://www.definevc.com/team/lynne-chou-okeefe↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. Connie Loizos, “Another former Kleiner partner launches a fund; this time it’s Lynne Chou O’Keefe with Define Ventures,” TechCrunch, January 13, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/13/another-former-kleiner-partner-launches-a-fund-this-time-its-lynn-chou-okeefe-with-define-ventures/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. “Define Ventures Announces $460 Million Across Two New Funds to Fuel Digital Health Innovation,” PR Newswire, April 18, 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/define-ventures-announces-460-million-across-two-new-funds-to-fuel-digital-health-innovation-301799572.html↩↩↩

  4. “Q&A: Define Ventures seeks to invest in digital health after $460M raise,” MobiHealthNews, accessed June 2026. https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/qa-define-ventures-seeks-invest-digital-health-after-460m-raise↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  5. “Lynne Chou O’Keefe: Founder & Managing Partner of Define Ventures,” Health Evolution speaker bio, accessed June 2026. https://www.healthevolution.com/bios/speaker/lynne-chou-okeefe/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  6. Define Ventures homepage, accessed June 2026. https://www.definevc.com/↩

  7. “Lynne Chou O’Keefe (Define Ventures) / VC Breakdown & Contact,” VCSheet, accessed June 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/lynne-chou-o-keefe↩↩↩

  8. “FOLX Health Raises $30M in Series B Funding Led by 7wireVentures; Launches Expert-Led Support Groups for LGBTQIA+ Community,” PR Newswire, October 26, 2022 — confirms Define Ventures as existing investor in Folx Health. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/folx-health-raises-30m-in-series-b-funding-led-by-7wireventures-launches-expert-led-support-groups-for-lgbtqia-community-301647390.html↩↩↩

  9. “DexCare Announces $20M in Oversubscribed Series A Funding, the Providence Spin Out Delivers First Operating System for Digital Care,” PR Newswire, March 22, 2021. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dexcare-announces-20m-in-oversubscribed-series-a-funding-the-providence-spin-out-delivers-first-operating-system-for-digital-care-301252458.html↩↩↩↩↩↩

  10. “Why Define Ventures Partnered with Concert Health,” Define Ventures (Medium), April 27, 2022. https://medium.com/definevc/why-define-ventures-partnered-with-concert-health-8a45d6419f6c↩↩↩

  11. “9amHealth Raises $26M to Expand Into Chronic Conditions Driving the Majority of Employer Pharmacy Spend,” PR Newswire, May 13, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/9amhealth-raises-26m-to-expand-into-chronic-conditions-driving-the-majority-of-employer-pharmacy-spend-302769972.html↩↩↩↩

  12. Jonathan Shieber, “Tia gets over $24 million to build a network of holistic health clinics and virtual services for women,” TechCrunch, May 28, 2020 — Tia Series A led by Threshold Ventures with Define Ventures among existing investors. https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/28/tia-health-gets-over-24-million-to-build-a-network-of-holistic-health-clinics-and-virtual-services-for-women/↩↩

  13. “Cohere Health Secures $90M Series C to Expand AI-Powered Platform Transforming Health Plan Clinical Decision-Making,” PR Newswire, May 14, 2025 — Temasek led with Define Ventures continuing participation. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cohere-health-secures-90m-series-c-to-expand-ai-powered-platform-transforming-health-plan-clinical-decision-making-302454527.html↩↩

  14. “Hims & Hers Appoints Two New Board Members: Lynne Chou O’Keefe & David Wells,” Femtech Insider, November 24, 2020. https://femtechinsider.com/hims-hers-board-2/↩↩↩↩↩

  15. Tom Stanis on X, January 11, 2022. https://x.com/tomstanis/status/1480941210000760832↩↩↩

  16. “Ep 13: Meet the Hosts: Lynne Chou O’Keefe,” Day Zero podcast (Think Medium), accessed June 2026. https://www.thinkmedium.com/day-zero/ep-13-meet-the-hosts-lynne-chou-okeefe/↩

  17. Lynne Chou O’Keefe speaker page, HLTH Conference 2024, accessed June 2026. https://hlth.com/speakers/2024/lynne-chou-okeefe↩