Sunlight AI Launches with $17.4M to Help Physicians Thrive Independently

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunlight AI today announced its launch, $17.4 million in seed funding to run the business side of independent medical practices so physicians can stay in practice for themselves. The seed round is led by Lan Xuexhao, founder of Basis Set Ventures, with participation from Sofeon Ventures, Social Leverage, Actions Capital, Overlook Ventures, Early Light Ventures alongside a dozen additional healthcare investors, family offices, and technology founders, including Chris Hubbell, Tilli Bannett, Dara Rahimzadeh, and Frank Williams, Founder of Evolent Health.

Independent practices today split administrative work across 5 or 6 vendors and a stretched office manager. Many physicians have been escaping this equation through consolidation within corporations or health systems. Sunlight provides them a second option, one that keeps them in charge of their practice by giving them a single operating partner wielding the latest advances in technology.

Practice operating expenses rose roughly 11% in 2025, and Medicare physician payment has fallen over 30% since 2001 according to MGMA and the AMA. Meanwhile hospitals and corporates have acquired over 85,000 practices between 2018-2026, and only 18% of physicians remain independent today based on a PAI-Avalere report. The aim for Sunlight is clear: make it easier for practices to combat rising costs, reduced reimbursement, and pressure to divest.

Independent physicians generally result in lower cost for the same care. Unfortunately, a study from Yale University and the National Bureau of Economic Research tracked 276 hospital acquisitions and demonstrated a 15.1% increase in physician pricing within 2 years without measurable gains in quality.

Sunlight lowers administrative cost per encounter, offers better collections for care delivered, and more patient capacity. In 2026, the first cohort of arbitration clients have recovered multiples of the payer's initial payment amount - at lower fees than competitive vendors. With Sunlight, independent practices have the operational leverage of a large institution while maintaining autonomy.

Sunlight's Founder and CEO Sina Chehrazi is deeply familiar with the challenges physicians face in delivering care. His father, Professor Barry Chehrazi, is an independent neurosurgeon who has maintained his practice for decades, and is a founding member of Sunlight's Independent Medicine Advisory Board. Sina saw the pressure on his father's practice rise as administrative complexity strained the practice. Later, as Founder & CEO of Nayya Health, he built an organization that helps more than 5 million employees get value from their healthcare benefits, witnessing how persistent price increases were straining the healthcare system for large employers, often driven by the site of care.

"I grew up seeing what getting paid costs a practice, and at Nayya I saw rising healthcare costs squeeze employers every year," said Chehrazi. "Physicians need more time to see patients and make clinical decisions, and less time dedicated to operational overhead. We are handcrafting operating intelligence for independent physicians while preserving physician ownership and clinical control."

Bradford Medical Associates is the first of several impending acquisitions ahead for Sunlight, as it continually adds dynamic service providers who serve independent physicians. Practices (or service providers) interested in working with Sunlight can learn more at SunlightAI.com.

Sunlight AI is building the patient-to-payment operating layer for independent physicians. Based in New York and Miami, it combines practice-management infrastructure, human expertise, and AI to improve operations while preserving physician ownership and clinical control. Learn more at SunlightAI.com.

Media Contact:

Catherine Spence, Head of Growth

[email protected]

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SOURCE Sunlight AI