**Forward Health Shuts Down Operations, Closes Locations, and Cancels Visits**

Forward, a renowned player in the primary care sector, has suddenly ceased operations, closing its physical locations and canceling scheduled appointments, according to an official announcement made on Wednesday. In addition to shutting down its primary care services, Forward has also disabled its mobile application effective immediately, as detailed in a post on its website.

The announcement revealed minimal additional information, and attempts to reach Forward for comments have been unsuccessful. The Information, a publication that initially reported on the shutdown on Tuesday, mentioned that nearly 200 employees would be losing their jobs, based on information from a source close to the company.

Forward has assured its patients that further details on how to access their medical records will be provided in the future. The company is also preparing resources to assist patients in finding new healthcare providers. "Starting today, you will no longer have access to the Forward app, but our medical team is available at clinical@goforward.com to support your care until December 13, 2024," the company stated.

Since its launch in 2016, Forward has been a tech-enabled primary care business operating on a cash-pay model that eschewed traditional insurance. Success came quickly, with the company raising $657 million and reaching a $1 billion valuation in 2021. A significant $100 million Series E funding round in 2023 led to the introduction of Forward CarePods, AI-based self-serve kiosks designed to screen and diagnose health conditions, which were being deployed in key urban centers like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Adrian Aoun, Forward's founder and CEO, previously indicated that these CarePods were part of an ambitious vision to use technology to expand healthcare services to a broader population. Despite these innovations, Forward has been compelled to shut down its operations unexpectedly.

With 19 locations and over 100 primary care clinicians across its network, Forward's closure marks the end of a notable chapter for the tech-driven healthcare startup. Adrian Aoun's journey from heading special projects at Google to founding Forward highlighted his commitment to revolutionizing healthcare through technology. This story is still developing, and further updates are anticipated.