Duet Raises $15M to Scale Nurse Practitioner-Owned Clinics, Filling Critical Primary Care Gap

With more than 130 clinics in 21 states, Duet helps nurse practitioners open and grow their own practices in rural and underserved communities to expand primary care

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Duet, the largest network of nurse practitioner-owned primary care practices in the U.S., today announced a $15 million Series A funding round, bringing its total raised to date to $22.5 million. The round was led by Kairos, with participation from Lerer Hippeau. Funds will be used to bring more NP-owned clinics into its network, deepen its value-based care partnerships with insurers, and grow its engineering team to expand its automation tools. Duet also announced plans to launch the first-ever NP-led Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in 2027, putting NP practices at the center of a care model historically led by hospitals and large physician groups.

“Nurse practitioners already deliver a big share of primary care, and their patients trust them,” said Jonathan Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Duet. “But more than 100 million Americans still lack access to primary care and too many preventable problems go unaddressed. So NPs are launching their own clinics to reach more people who are overlooked by the system. Duet helps them build enduring practices that keep patients first and return care to the community. They’re going from being a workforce to being owners and we’re proud to support that.”

Nurse practitioners are projected to be one of the fastest growing professions in the U.S. over the next decade, and more of them are building practices to bring care closer to home. However, NP-owned clinics often face higher compliance costs and lower reimbursements than physicians for the same services, and many NPs find themselves spending more time on paperwork than on patients. Duet is changing this. Its AI-powered tools find patients who have fallen out of care and get them on the schedule, flag the most critical issues before each appointment, and take billing, credentialing, and payer contracting off the NP’s plate. Alternative contracts pay NPs more when they deliver on outcomes, turning better care into revenue they can use to grow.

Early results are strong. Across 400,000 annual visits, patient Net Promoter Score is 92, compared with a typical range of 40 to 70. NP practices that join Duet see preventive screenings for conditions like breast cancer and colon cancer rise by 30% and ER visits fall 20%. Of the patients who have drifted out of care, 25% come back in, and these are the patients who tend to end up worse off. On the financial side, NPs in Duet’s alternative contracts have earned 25% to 50% more revenue by succeeding on quality and cost measures, leaning into their model of preventative care. In New Hampshire, Duet’s anchor market, the NP network outperformed peers on the total cost of care by 19%, which translated into earned savings.

Insurers including Anthem, Cigna, Centene, and Molina contract with Duet as a single network of vetted, independent NP-owned clinics. That scale lets practices take on value-based contracts a small clinic couldn’t land on its own. In many of them, Duet absorbs the financial risk, with approximately $100 million in total patient spend covered.

Duet plans to launch the first-ever NP-led ACO in 2027, giving independent NP-owned practices access to Medicare’s shared savings programs. An ACO brings healthcare providers together to improve preventative care, with providers sharing in the savings they generate. Designed and governed by NPs, Duet’s program will preserve practice owners’ autonomy while providing technology and support to strengthen the care they deliver.

“Duet is one of those rare businesses where everybody wins,” said Alex Fiance, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Kairos. “It reaches patients in need, helps clinicians become business owners, and brings costs down for the payers and the U.S. government by catching problems early. We believe Duet has the potential to reshape care across the country in a highly scalable way and are excited to help fuel their growth.”

NPs interested in joining Duet can learn more at https://joinduet.com/.

About Duet

Duet is the largest network of independent, nurse practitioner-owned primary care practices in the U.S. Founded on the mission to end the primary care shortage, Duet combines technology, operational support and payer contracting to help nurse practitioners open, grow and sustain high-performing clinics in their communities. Through partnerships with insurers, Duet helps practices earn compensation that reflects the quality of their care and the outcomes they deliver, not just visits. Its growing network spans more than 130 clinics across 21 states and serves approximately 150,000 patients, many in rural and underserved communities where NPs are more likely than other primary care providers to practice. To learn more, visit joinduet.com.