diff --git a/navi/main.py b/navi/main.py
index 4b1a639..091571d 100644
--- a/navi/main.py
+++ b/navi/main.py
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 
 @app.on_event("startup")
 async def _on_startup() -> None:
-    from navi.api.deps import get_session_store
+    from navi.api.deps import get_registries, get_session_store
     from navi.content_store import ensure_tables
     from navi.session_files import cleanup_loop
     # Ensure content store tables exist (retry for race with Docker compose)
@@ -61,6 +61,9 @@
                 await asyncio.sleep(2)
             else:
                 log.error("startup.ensure_tables_failed", error=str(e))
+    # Initialize registries before embed health check. The memory store gets its
+    # embedding backend wired during registry construction.
+    get_registries()
     # Check embedding backend health and log status
     from navi.api.routes.health import _check_embed