The 60-second brief
- 1Rightway announced a $155 million Series E on September 24, 2026, led by Francisco Partners with Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.
- 2The pharmacy benefit and care navigation company says 45 Fortune 500 companies are clients.
- 3Rightway says proceeds will expand its AI capabilities and the technology behind its pharmacy benefits model.
- Series E size
- $155 million
- Fortune 500 clients
- 45
- Valuation
- Not disclosed
Why CEOs should care
For CFOs and benefits leaders, prescription drug spending is a growing focus, and Rightway's own GLP-1 program shows how much attention those medicines now draw. A well-funded challenger PBM could give employers more negotiating leverage at renewal. When evaluating Rightway or any alternative, ask for pricing guarantees in writing, a clear definition of what counts as a markup, full pass-through of manufacturer rebates, and audit rights that let an independent party verify claims data.
For HR and total rewards teams, the care navigation component matters as much as drug pricing. Ask vendors how they measure whether navigation actually steers employees to lower-cost, higher-quality care, and request outcome data from existing clients of similar size and workforce mix. Switching PBMs can disrupt employees' prescriptions, so build a transition plan with clear communication and pharmacy network continuity.
For boards and audit committees, pharmacy benefit contracts carry fiduciary weight for self-insured employers. Directors can ask whether the company has benchmarked its PBM contract in the past two years and whether the terms give management enough visibility into where drug spending goes.
Key takeaways
- Rightway announced a $155 million Series E on September 24, 2026, led by Francisco Partners with Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures.
- The pharmacy benefit and care navigation company says 45 Fortune 500 companies are clients.
- Rightway says proceeds will expand its AI capabilities and the technology behind its pharmacy benefits model.
The news
Rightway raises $155 million in a Series E round led by Francisco Partners, according to a September 24, 2026 announcement from the New York pharmacy benefit and care navigation company. Rightway said the money will expand its AI capabilities as employers demand more accountability for prescription drug spending.
Existing investors Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures also participated. Rightway did not disclose its valuation or total funding raised to date. Francisco Partners is an investment firm that specializes in technology companies, according to the announcement.
Rightway operates as a pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, the type of intermediary that administers prescription drug coverage for employers and health plans, negotiates with drugmakers and pharmacies, and sets what plan sponsors pay. It pairs that with care navigation, which helps employees find doctors and treatment. The company says its model lines up its own financial incentives with those of clients and backs them with clinical staff and software.
Its pricing model, SureSpend, launched in January 2026, is described by the company as removing hidden conflicts and loopholes found in traditional PBM pricing. SureSpend includes what Rightway calls a Precision Pricing Guarantee and a Zero-Markup Wrap. In April, Rightway introduced a weight management program aimed at helping employers get more value from spending on GLP-1 drugs, the class of medicines used for diabetes and weight loss.
Rightway said it now counts 45 Fortune 500 companies among its clients. Deloitte ranked it 42nd on its 2025 Technology Fast 500 list of fast-growing North American companies, according to Rightway's press page. Chief executive Jordan Feldman argued in the announcement that Rightway is the best-placed company to run pharmacy benefits.
Ezra Perlman, co-president of Francisco Partners, said Rightway is “well positioned to meet that demand with a differentiated model,” referring to employer demand for accountability in pharmacy spending.
The numbers
- Series E size
- $155 million
- Fortune 500 clients
- 45
- Valuation
- Not disclosed
Why CEOs should care
For CFOs and benefits leaders, prescription drug spending is a growing focus, and Rightway's own GLP-1 program shows how much attention those medicines now draw. A well-funded challenger PBM could give employers more negotiating leverage at renewal. When evaluating Rightway or any alternative, ask for pricing guarantees in writing, a clear definition of what counts as a markup, full pass-through of manufacturer rebates, and audit rights that let an independent party verify claims data.
For HR and total rewards teams, the care navigation component matters as much as drug pricing. Ask vendors how they measure whether navigation actually steers employees to lower-cost, higher-quality care, and request outcome data from existing clients of similar size and workforce mix. Switching PBMs can disrupt employees' prescriptions, so build a transition plan with clear communication and pharmacy network continuity.
For boards and audit committees, pharmacy benefit contracts carry fiduciary weight for self-insured employers. Directors can ask whether the company has benchmarked its PBM contract in the past two years and whether the terms give management enough visibility into where drug spending goes.
The bigger picture
Rightway's round comes as employers look harder at the economics of pharmacy benefits, the context its own announcement cites. Its pitch rests on transparency: according to the release, the Precision Pricing Guarantee caps total pharmacy spend, and the Zero-Markup Wrap covers categories often left out of such guarantees, including GLP-1s and rare high-cost drugs, at net cost with full rebate pass-through. The company is one of several venture-backed benefits businesses raising money in September 2026; TechCrunch reported on September 15 that health benefits platform Thatch reached a $1 billion valuation, and on September 21 that Corridor raised a $25 million seed round to build a health benefits brokerage for small businesses.
The Series E also caps a period of organizational build-out. Rightway's press page shows it announced key executive appointments in December 2025, launched SureSpend in January and added the weight management program in April. The new capital gives the company room to compete for large employer contracts against established PBMs, though Rightway has not disclosed membership numbers, which makes its scale hard to compare.
What's next
Watch for Rightway to announce new large employer clients during the upcoming benefits renewal season, and for details on the AI features it plans to build with the new capital. Any disclosure of valuation, membership or revenue would give buyers a clearer sense of its scale relative to established PBMs.
Sources
- PrimaryRightway Raises $155 Million as it Leads the Next Generation of Pharmacy Benefits— Rightway
- PrimaryRightway press releases— Rightway
- ReportVenture Capital & Startup Funding Roundup, September 24, 2026— TechStartups
- ReportHealth benefits platform Thatch reaches $1B valuation as healthcare costs surge— TechCrunch
- ReportCorridor raises $25M seed to build a health benefits brokerage for SMBs— TechCrunch
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