Bala Cynwyd-based Osage Venture Partners has joined tennis legend, Serena Williams, in financing HUED, a digital health startup that connects patients with physicians of color in efforts to improve health outcomes for Black and Latinx people, writes Kennedy Rose for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The $1.6 million seed round was led by the Female Founders Fund, with participation from Montgomery County venture capital firm and Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures.

Osage is the second-largest investor with $350,000, only behind the Female Founders Fund.

According to Emily Foote, a principal with the firm, Osage decided to join the financing round after seeing HUED’s growth and its position in the health care marketplace, along with founder Kimberly Wilson’s personality.

Osage rarely invests in a seed round but made an exception in this case due to a good showing from the startup in 2020.

“We saw an incredible opportunity in HUED to more or less get a foot in the door so that when HUED is ready for their Series A, we can be an investor that has an opportunity to invest more meaningfully at that stage,” said Foote.

HUED helps bring doctors and patients together by connecting patients of color with health and medical professionals, also of color that specifically understand their mental, cultural, and physical needs.

Read more about HUED and Osage Venture Partners in the Philadelphia Business Journal.