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How Caroline Merin’s Leona Health Redefines Healthcare Communication In Latin America

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

December 17, 2025

Challenging the Status Quo In Healthcare Messaging

Caroline Merin, a trailblazing executive with a decade of on-demand service experience at Uber Eats and Rappi, has turned her discerning eye toward a critical gap in healthcare technology. Noticing that patients expect the immediacy of delivery apps when contacting their doctors, Merin observed a stark contrast: while modern consumers enjoy rapid responses, many Latin American physicians still rely on WhatsApp for patient communications.

Overwhelming Patient Demands And Physician Fatigue

In an era where patients continually send messages—from urgent health concerns to minor administrative requests—doctors face an unsustainable volume of communication. As Merin explained in a recent TechCrunch interview, a typical physician may see 20 patients during the day only to return home to find an inbox flooded with over 100 unresolved messages. Without integrated health records at hand, keeping up in real time becomes a daunting task.

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Innovative AI-Driven Solution With Leona Health

Identifying this inefficiency, Merin launched Leona Health two years ago. This startup revolutionizes patient communication by integrating an AI-driven copilot with doctors’ existing WhatsApp accounts. By sorting messages by urgency, suggesting timely responses, and enabling team collaboration between doctors and nurses, Leona Health allows physicians to focus on critical care rather than administrative overload.

Robust Seed Funding And Regional Expansion

Leona Health recently secured $14 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, with strategic participation from General Catalyst, Accel, Maven Clinic CEO Kate Ryder, Nubank CEO David Vélez, and Rappi CEO Simón Borrero. The company now serves doctors across 14 Latin American countries in over 22 medical specialties, significantly enhancing patient care efficiency. This infusion of capital is set to further accelerate product enhancements, including the imminent launch of a fully autonomous agent to manage scheduling and basic patient intake.

A Vision For Global Transformation

Merin’s mission goes beyond Latin America. While starting in a market where patient-doctor communication via WhatsApp is not only expected but preferred, Leona Health aims to extend its transformative solution globally in regions with similar communication dynamics. By restoring valuable time to physicians—up to two to three hours daily, according to early feedback—Leona Health is poised to redefine the efficiency and responsiveness of healthcare communications worldwide.

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Eurobank Wins Two Euromoney Awards Following Cyprus Merger

Eurobank has been named Cyprus’ Best Bank for 2026 by Euromoney, while also receiving the award for Best Bank for Large Corporates at the publication’s latest Awards for Excellence.

Merger Marks A Milestone

The awards recognise the bank’s performance during 2025, a year marked by the completion of the legal merger between Hellenic Bank and Eurobank Cyprus. The transaction created Eurobank Limited, which the group says is now Cyprus’ largest banking and insurance organisation, with assets exceeding €28 billion.

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Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence evaluate banks’ performance over the previous calendar year, with this edition covering January 1 to December 31, 2025.

Lending, Customers And Digital Growth

Eurobank said its business lending portfolio expanded by around 17 per cent during 2025, while its customer base grew to more than 710,000 retail clients and 11,500 business customers.

The bank also continued its digital expansion, saying more than 96 per cent of transactions are now completed through digital channels, and most financing applications are submitted via its mobile app.

Expanding International Presence

Eurobank also highlighted the opening of its first representative office in India, describing the move as a step toward strengthening business links between Cyprus and India while supporting Cyprus’ role as a gateway to the European Union for Indian businesses and investors.

According to the bank, Euromoney recognised not only the successful completion of the merger but also its lending growth, digital transformation and contribution to Cyprus’ position as an international business and investment hub.

CEO On The Awards

“The Euromoney awards confirm Eurobank’s strong momentum and the successful implementation of our group’s strategy in Cyprus,” Chief Executive Michalis Louis said.

He said the merger strengthened the bank’s ability to support households, businesses and the wider economy, while highlighting continued investment in digital services and the opening of the representative office in India as key milestones during the year.