Aegle is a company that has developed specialty capital solutions for self-insured employers and risk-bearing entities that by enhance traditional stop-loss reinsurance. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Aegle Capital founder Gerardo Zampaglione to learn more about the firm.
Gerardo Zampaglione’s Background
Gerardo Zampaglione
What is Gerardo Zampaglione’s background? Zampaglione said:
“I’m the founder of Aegle Capital, the first company that provides adaptive capital solutions to mitigate the volatility associated with high-cost healthcare claims. My experience is varied, having worked in population health, value-based care, re/insurance, structured finance, and predictive analytics for the self-insured benefits ecosystem. Prior to founding Aegle, I led billing and population health initiatives at Epic Systems, the leading EMR vendor, and advised Fortune 500 biopharma, medical device, venture capital, and private equity firms on commercial growth strategy, due diligence, and product design through roles at boutique healthcare strategy consultancies.”
“In my current role, I oversee new product development and I work closely with the Chief Growth Officer to bring in new clients. I also interface with current and prospective capital partners, helping them understand the unique value and investment proposition Aegle brings. We areone of the first companies focused on esoteric private credit-type opportunities in the self-insured and stop-loss reinsurance world.”
“I graduated from the Wharton School and Tufts University.”
Evolution Of The Firm’s Thesis
How has your firm’s thesis evolved over time? Zampaglione noted:
“Our core thesis at Aegle has remained consistent: there are smarter, more adaptive financial tools that can be used to fund healthcare. On the ‘front-end’, these tools help employers address acute pain points in the administration of health benefits. On the ‘back-end,’ these tools resemble attractive private credit-type investment opportunities for the structured finance ecosystem. What’s evolved is our focus. We’ve zeroed in on solving for the critical timing and capital availability gaps that create unpredictability for self-insured employers. That’s where we believe we can deliver the most value: by providing immediate reimbursement via Aegle Accel factoring, we allow companies to operate with greater ease and predictability, even in the face of an unexpected and high-cost claim.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for your firm so far? Zampaglione reflected:
“Without question, it was the day we cleared our first $10 million in claims. That was a turning point; it proved that our model doesn’t just work—it works at scale. We had employers who finally felt like they had control over their cash flow. Brokers were thrilled because they didn’t have to explain delays or uncertainty. Everyone could operate with more clarity. It was one of those rare moments where every stakeholder felt the benefit. That’s when I knew we weren’t just solving a problem, we were changing expectations around how the system should work.”
“Probably the second time was when we calculated we had like $4,000 or so of writedown on that $10 million.So it’s not just that it works–and works profitably–but it’s secure.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of your firm’s most significant milestones? Zampaglione cited:
“We’ve had a few moments that really stand out. The official launch in January 2024 was marked the moment we moved from concept to execution. Signing our first large partner that same month validated the market need and the value we could deliver. Then in April of the same year, closing our Series A was a major step forward—it gave us the fuel to grow and invest in the infrastructure needed to scale. But one of the most meaningful milestones, to me, was hiring our first team member from outside the founding group. It meant people believed in what we were building and wanted to work with us to do it.”
“And there’s one story that still sticks with me: helping a small valve manufacturing company with 85 employees navigate a $2.6 million claim. We were able to get them the capital they needed without delay and because of that, they avoided a major operational emergency. That’s what this is all about: leveraging adaptive capital to keep real businesses running, people employed, and plans intact.”
AUM And Other Metrics
When asking Zampaglione about the firm’s total AUM or any other notable metrics, he revealed:
“AUM is $200 million expandable up to $500 million. Additionally, the firm grew by 1,150% year-over-year (YOY) in terms of membership, meaning employee lives covered.”
Industry Focus
What are some of the industries that your firm is focused on? Zampaglione pointed out:
“We are industry-agnostic but I can share that our median customer has 502 employees and we mainly serve middle-market self-insured US-based employers.”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates Aegle from other firms? Zampaglione emphasized:
“We are the first (and as of now), the only company that provides adaptive capital solutions to mitigate the volatility associated with high-cost healthcare claims. We creates tailored solutions that solves three distinct problems that self-insured employers face:
— The timing of reimbursement
— Gaps in coverage
— High-cost health insurance claims
No one else is doing this right now.”
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges Zampaglione and the team face while working at the firm? Zampaglione acknowledged:
“The biggest challenge was getting going. When you’re trying to fundamentally transform the financing of healthcare, you’re immediately confronted with a supercharged version of the classic ‘virtuous circle’ problem. You need capital (a lot of it) for customers to buy your financial product. But to raise that capital, you need customers. And to get customers, you need capital. And unlike other venture-backed businesses, you just can’t make it work with a few thousand or hundred thousand dollars. You need millions, if not tens of millions, from the get-go. So, it’s a loop that stops a lot of good ideas from getting off the ground.”
“What made the difference for us was staying laser-focused on getting the capital piece right from day one. We built conviction with investors who understood the space, who saw the same inefficiencies we did, and who believed in our ability to execute. Once we had that in place, we could go to market with confidence and our first customers felt that. They knew we had the backing and the structure to deliver on what we promised. Breaking that loop was one of the hardest parts, but also one of the most validating.”
Future Goals
What are some of your firm’s future goals? Zampaglione pointed out:
“Our goal is to continue improving how health risk is financed. We want to play a bigger role in helping entities, employers, providers, or other risk-bearing entities, manage healthcare risk in a more capital-efficient way. That means designing smarter financial tools and also means building the infrastructure and technology that allows funding to flow more efficiently between players in the ecosystem.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Zampaglione concluded:
“One thing that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is just how massive and misunderstood the self-insured market really is. It’s the largest single source of health coverage in the U.S.; for business owners, health benefits are often the biggest single line item of spend other than payroll. And within healthcare, self-insured represents the most profitable slice of spend dollars.”
“Despite that, the self-insured space is still largely opaque and under-optimized. Capital markets, in particular, haven’t wrapped their heads around the sheer size and fragmentation of this market, and the opportunity that creates. That’s where we see enormous potential to drive change and build value.”
