# Yusuf Sherwani

> Yusuf Sherwani is a London-born, New York-based medical doctor turned founder who runs Pelago (formerly Quit Genius), the digital clinic he co-founded in 2017 with two medical school classmates, Maroof Ahmed and Sarim Siddiqui. A Y Combinator alumnus and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, he has raised more than $150 million from investors including Atomico, Kinnevik and Octopus Ventures to scale technology-driven, evidence-based care. Trained at Imperial College London with an MD and a BSc in management, he co-authored roughly a dozen peer-reviewed studies before pivoting fully into building. He is also an active angel investor backing early-stage founders and writes about healthcare, technology and finance on his personal blog.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Pelago
- **Organizations:** Pelago, Quit Genius, Y Combinator
- **From:** London, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** MD, Medicine (MBBS), Imperial College London, BSc, Healthcare Management, Imperial College London (Business School)
- **Known for:** Co-founded and scaled Pelago (formerly Quit Genius) into a digital clinic with millions of members reachable across all 50 US states., Raised more than $150M from Atomico, Kinnevik, Octopus Ventures, Y Combinator and others., Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2018 alongside his two co-founders.

## Career timeline

- **2017** — Co-founded Quit Genius with medical school classmates Maroof Ahmed and Sarim Siddiqui.
- **2018** — Backed by Y Combinator; named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list (Social Entrepreneurs).
- **2019** — Recognized by Fast Company as one of its Most Creative People.
- **2020** — Closed an $11M Series A led by Octopus Ventures.
- **2021** — Raised a $64M oversubscribed Series B co-led by Kinnevik and Atomico.
- **2023** — Rebranded Quit Genius to Pelago, broadening from smoking cessation to full substance use care.
- **2024** — Raised a $58M Series C led by Atomico, bringing total funding to roughly $151M.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and scaled Pelago (formerly Quit Genius) into a digital clinic with millions of members reachable across all 50 US states.
- Raised more than $150M from Atomico, Kinnevik, Octopus Ventures, Y Combinator and others.
- Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2018 alongside his two co-founders.
- Recognized by Fast Company as one of its Most Creative People (2019).
- Co-authored roughly 12 peer-reviewed studies on behavioral health and substance use disorders.
- Y Combinator alumnus.

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — Closed a $58M Series C led by Atomico, with participation from Kinnevik, Octopus Ventures and Y Combinator, bringing total raised to about $151M.
- **2025-11** — Published a personal essay arguing the future of substance use care is 'AI-native.'
- **2026-07** — Published a blog piece, 'The $100B Paradox: Why the Largest Company in Healthcare Hasn't Been Built Yet.'

## Links

- Website: https://ysherwani.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ysherwani/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ysherwani

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yusuf-sherwani
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-07