South African financial services group Discovery is putting more money and strategic weight behind its U.S. health insurance ambitions, with CEO Adrian Gore targeting $80 million to $100 million in annual profit from Vitality by 2029.

The push could give Discovery a larger foothold in one of the world’s biggest healthcare markets.

Discovery has historically licensed Vitality’s data and intellectual property to U.S. health insurers, but Gore said the business has operated below the scale the market can support.

The company now wants to build a $100 million-revenue U.S. Vitality operation over the next few years, while keeping the expansion relatively light on capital.

Gore described the strategy as a low-capital, high-intellectual-property model rather than a major balance-sheet bet.

Discovery is seeking to combine insurer relationships, acquisitions and technology to widen Vitality’s reach among health plans, employers and other U.S. healthcare partners, where the company sees significant room to grow.

Google partnership raises stakes

The latest move came Sept. 22, when Gore unveiled a partnership between Vitality AI and Google at the technology company’s New York offices.

The initiative is intended to help businesses use artificial intelligence to deliver personalized health pathways at scale, giving Vitality another tool for building relationships with U.S. health plans.

Gore links the expansion to a broader healthcare problem: rising medical costs and aging populations are putting pressure on governments and working-age populations.

He argues that preventing or delaying illness could reduce that burden, positioning Vitality’s behavior-based health model as part of a response to changing demographics.

Three acquisitions broaden reach

Discovery has strengthened its U.S. platform through acquisitions of WellSpark, Ramp Health and Icario, adding capabilities spanning health coaching, clinical reach and government health plans.

Icario is especially important because its business includes U.S. government health insurance plans and adds access to 11 million lives, expanding Vitality’s potential customer base.

The U.S. expansion is one of two major engines in Discovery’s 2029 growth plan. The other is Discovery Bank, which has already become profitable and is expected to generate R3 billion($183 million) in annual profit by 2029. Vitality Global, meanwhile, continues to build through partnerships across international markets.

Vitality already has major relationships with AIA in Asia-Pacific, Japan’s Sumitomo Life and China’s Ping An, while Discovery also owns an equity stake in Ping An.

Gore said the U.S. push is not a do-or-die proposition, but Discovery wants to capture more value from a market large enough to materially change Vitality’s contribution.