SpendRule raises $2M, emerges from stealth to help hospitals track spending

Source: TechCrunch

Founders’ Background

Last year, Chris Heckler was nearing the end of a five‑year non‑compete after selling his previous health‑care startup. “I was sitting on the sidelines doing angel investing, and I realized I was too young to retire,” he told TechCrunch. “I wanted to get back into it.”

At the same time, Joseph Akintolayo had just sold his fintech company and was also bound by a non‑compete. He knew Heckler from serving as an advisor on one of Heckler’s earlier projects.

During this downtime, the two decided to combine Heckler’s industry connections with Akintolayo’s AI and supply‑chain expertise to build something new.

The SpendRule Platform

SpendRule, launched last summer, is an AI‑powered platform that helps health‑care systems track their spending.

• Problem it solves: Many hospital purchases—such as maintenance, janitorial, translation services, or laundry—lack barcodes or easily identifiable receipts, making them difficult to match to contracts and invoices. This often leads to overspending.
• How it works: The platform integrates with a hospital’s existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), contract‑management, and accounts‑payable systems. It pulls data from contracts, invoices, internal databases, and vendor sources to validate invoices before payment is released.
• Key features:
  • Flags discrepancies and advises teams when to pay or hold payment.
  • Automates a function traditionally performed by auditors every two years or by manual invoice review.

SpendRule’s focus is on “purchase services” – items hospitals buy that do not have barcodes – differentiating it from competitors such as SpendMend and GHX.

Funding Round

The company emerged from stealth on Tuesday with a $2 million seed round led by Abundant Venture Partners. Participating investors also included the MemorialCare Innovation Fund and Zeal Capital Partners.

Heckler noted that the round closed quickly, thanks largely to his industry connections, allowing the team to expand and continue developing the AI infrastructure.

Current Customers

Big names already using the platform include:

• Kettering Health
• MemorialCare
• MUSC Health

Future Plans

The new capital will be used to hire additional talent and further develop SpendRule’s AI capabilities.

“Our goal is to build a more resilient hospital system,” Akintolayo said. “That’s our vision—to protect the bottom line of everyone by connecting their data and helping them make better decisions.”