A new year brings a new approach to tracking health tech and digital health investments.
Fierce Healthcare is switching from a continuous fundraising tracker to a weekly roundup of financing rounds.
Our weekly fundraising tracker provides updated coverage of noteworthy digital health and health tech funding rounds, though we'll still profile exciting new companies and larger rounds that catch our eye in-depth.
Do you have fundraising news to share? Email Senior Editor Heather Landi at [email protected].
Below are funding deals from Feb. 12-23.
For news about funding deals from 2023, check out our 2023 Fundraising Tracker.
.406 Ventures secures $265M to invest in health tech, AI
Early-stage venture capital firm .406 Ventures raised $265 million in capital commitments for Point 406 Ventures V, L.P., the firm’s fifth core fund.
The new fund is backed by a group of new and existing limited partners, including leading university endowments, foundations, pension plans, and strategic investors, the VC firm said. Consistent with prior funds, the new fund will invest in promising companies focused on solving the biggest problems in healthcare, data + AI, and cybersecurity. .406 has already made investments in four companies from the new fund with plans for investments in over 20.
Since its founding in 2005, .406 Ventures has raised over $1.4 billion across five core funds and three opportunity funds and invested in 87 innovative companies that have created over $18 billion of value. The company's previous investments include Iora Health (now a central pillar of Amazon Health), AbleTo (one of Optum Health’s core behavioral health offerings), Carbon Black and CloudHealth and Corvus (Travelers’ foundational cybersecurity insurance business).
Freenome bags $245M for cancer-detecting blood tests
Freenome, a biotechnology company developing blood tests for early cancer detection, picked up $254 million from new and existing investors. The company said it will use the fresh cash to advance its pipeline of single-cancer and tailored multi-cancer early detection tests built on its multiomics platform.
Roche led the financing, joined by a16z Life Sciences Growth Fund, ACS BrightEdge, ARK Investments, ArrowMark Partners, Artis Ventures, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Cormorant Capital, DCVC, Eventide Asset Management LLC, Intermountain Ventures, Perceptive Advisors, Polaris Partners, Pura Vida Investments, Quest Diagnostics, RA Capital Management, Sands Capital, Section 32, Squarepoint Capital, with funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and others.
Abridge banks $150M to build out generative AI for documentation
Investors continue to pour money into generative AI startups, and Abridge is riding this wave as it rapidly scales its technology across U.S. health systems.
The Pittsburgh-based startup banked a hefty $150 million series C funding round to invest in more research and development to build bedrock foundation models to power both improvements to the company's existing technology and new products, CEO Shivdev Rao, M.D., told Fierce Healthcare.
The latest funding comes just four months after Abridge raised $30 million in a series B round.
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures co-led the series C investment, and new and existing investors joined the round including IVP, Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Wittington Ventures, Mass General Brigham Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Fund (AIDIF), Kaiser Permanente Ventures and CVS Health Ventures.
Medical Microinstruments nabs $110M to fund surgical robot rollout
A tiny surgical robot has picked up a large sum: Medical Microinstruments has secured $110 million in venture capital funding to help support the commercial rollout of its Symani system, with wristed instruments small enough to help surgeons suture the most delicate blood vessels and tissues.
MMI’s series C round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and joined by its previous backers—which include Deerfield Management, the headliner of the company’s 2022 series B financing that raised a total of $87 million, alongside Wellington Partners, BioStar Capital, RA Capital Management, Andera Partners, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Panakès Partners and Sambatech.
Heart failure tech startup nabs $42M series A
Reprieve Cardiovascular, a development stage company focused on pioneering an intelligent automated diuretic and fluid management approach for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) treatment, picked up $42 million in series A financing.
The total round was co-led by Lightstone Ventures and Sante Ventures and joined by Deerfield Management, Genesis Capital, and Arboretum Ventures. The funding will advance the company’s clinical and development programs, including the ongoing FASTR trial and its upcoming pivotal trial.
Reprieve is bringing intelligence to decongestion management to safely accelerate fluid removal for heart failure patients. In 2022, Reprieve initiated the FASTR Trial (pilot study) to compare decongestive therapy administered by the Reprieve Decongestion Management System to Optimal Diuretic Therapy in the treatment of patients diagnosed with acute decompensated heart failure.
Oula banks $28M to build out maternity care clinics
Oula, a maternity center that combines obstetrics with midwifery, clinched $28 million in series B funding to open new clinics and offer more services.
Oula plans to use the funding to open more maternity care clinics beyond New York City, using its technology-enabled and hybrid care approach, and launch new services for those in their reproductive years, the company said.
The startup has raised $50 million to date. The series B round was co-led by Revolution Ventures and Maverick Ventures with participation from GV and existing investors including the Female Founders Fund, 8VC, Alumni Ventures and Great Oaks.
HealthSnap brings in $25M for remote patient monitoring
Miami-based HealthSnap raised $25 million in series B funding to support its remote patient monitoring and chronic care management solution.
The round was led by Sands Capital, with new investments from Comcast Ventures, Acronym Venture Capital, and Florida Opportunity Fund. Existing shareholders, Asclepius Growth Capital, Florida Funders, MacDonald Ventures, and TGH Ventures also participated in the round.
This latest financing brings HealthSnap's total funding to $48.5 million to date. The new financing enables HealthSnap to continue assembling its national clinical team, accelerate its product roadmap to meet increasing market demand for care in the home, and begin building its AI-powered population health and analytics solution.
During 2023, HealthSnap announced health system partnership expansions with UnityPoint Health and Prisma Health.
PatientFi picks up $25M for healthcare payment solutions
PatientFI, a company that developed healthcare financing and payment solutions, closed a $25 million growth equity financing round, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $70 million.
The round was led by VC investor Questa Capital. The growth capital will be used primarily for accelerating sales and marketing, developing new commercial partnerships, and launching new product initiatives.
PatientFi offers medical practices a comprehensive technology suite of payment and subscription solutions to help patients pay for elective procedures.
The company has grown its network to over 4,000 practices, serving over 180,000 patients since 2019.
Carewell nabs $24.7M to build out eCommerce platform for caregivers
Carewell developed an online retail platform to give family caregivers access to home healthcare products, tools and resources to care for their loved ones.
The company picked up a $2.4.7 million series B funding round to further accelerate its mission of streamlining access to home health products. This latest round of funding was led by the principals of MBF Healthcare, with participation from existing investors Sageview Capital and Headline among others.
Additional investors in this round of funding include Primetime Partners, Nextview, Florida Opportunity Fund, and Anchor.
The funds from the series B round will fuel Carewell’s growth strategy, bolster the company’s e-commerce technology, and enhance overall customer experience, focusing on improved service and an expanded suite of products.
Carewell customers can shop across a wide variety of categories, including incontinence, nutrition, mobility, mom & baby and more.
Upwards raises $21M to scale childcare solutions
Upwards, formerly WeeCare, is a national childcare network and care benefits company and nabbed a $21 million series B financing round led by Alpha Edison.
Existing investors M13 and Fika Ventures also participated in the funding round.
With this latest round, the company's total funding reaches $43.3 million, making it one of the most notable investments in childcare companies in recent years.
The company says it simplifies childcare benefits for companies, providing data-driven insights that showcase their impact on recruitment and retention. Focusing primarily on frontline workers in manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, and retail, Upwards' benefits have led to a 30% reduction in employee absenteeism and a 5x decrease in turnover among employees utilizing childcare assistance.
Since launching childcare benefits solutions in response to the pandemic's workforce challenges, Upwards has grown 8-fold, securing significant partnerships with employers like Chobani, JCPenney, Trane Technologies, and the U.S. Army Reserves, alongside over 520 other companies championing care support for their working families.
Power grabs $11.9M to improve clinical trial recruitment
Clinical trial marketplace Power raised $11.9 million to build out its technology that helps more patients participate in medical research.
The series A round was led by Kin, Contrary, and Footwork.
To date, over 600,000 patients used Power to find clinical trials in the past year. Study team participation on the platform is growing by 20% monthly, leading to increased efficiency and faster enrollment. Power is actively fostering diversity, with studies attracting participants who better reflect the US population, according to the company.
Founded in 2021 by Brandon Li and Michael Gill, Power recognized the complex and opaque nature of clinical trial recruitment. By offering a patient-centric platform, they have empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals t
The company is expecting a million patients to use the platform by the end of 2024.
9amHealth scores $9.5M series A extension round
Cardiometabolic health startup 9amHealth picked up additional funding, backed by The Cigna Group Ventures, 7Wire Ventures, Define Ventures, Leaps by Bayer and Founders Fund.
The company raised a $16 million series A funding round in April 2022 and the extension brings its total series A raise to $25 million.
This new capital will fuel 9amHealth's growth strategy and product roadmap, further scale the company's existing solutions, and expand its internal team of care specialists, doctors and medical advisers.
The latest funding empowers Power to expand its platform, support researchers and create a more equitable clinical trial ecosystem.
The digital health company, a Fierce 15 of 2024 honoree, provides complete cardiometabolic care for people living with prediabetes, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and obesity.
As the demand for GLP-1 medications for weight loss continues to grow, 9amHealth says it helps employers and health plans address the high price tag by providing affordable cardiometabolic care at scale and helping to manage the rising costs of GLP-1s for both patients and employers.
"GLP-1s have caught the attention of Americans who have never been engaged in the healthcare ecosystem before," said Frank Westermann, co-founder and co-CEO of 9amHealth. "For the first time ever, we're seeing a significant uptick in patients who are excited about taking care of their diabetes and weight health. But with such a high price point, employers are in need of smart solutions to manage costs and the expectations of employees. With this additional funding, 9amHealth will be able to expand access to the highest standard of medical care to more Americans while curbing medication spending."
In January 2024, 9amHealth announced three important partnerships: LillyDirect, Solera Health and Transcarent. The company also received the HITRUST certification to demonstrate its commitment to cybersecurity and data protection.
Anatomy Financial lands $7.6M for financial automation solutions
A company that developed AI-powered financial automation solutions for medical, dental, digital health and healthcare billing companies picked up $7.6 million in fresh funding.
Lightspeed, Meridian Street Capital, Live Oak Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, Peterson Ventures and angel investors with expertise across healthcare and fintech.
Today, healthcare providers receive a quarter of payments and remittances on paper, and siloed banking and practice management systems make it difficult to get clarity into insurance revenue that is paid versus needs follow-up. Anatomy automates these financial workflows using AI to convert EOBs to ERAs, modern lockbox solutions to digitize payments and mail, and seamless integrations to automate bank reconciliation and posting.
Siftwell Analytics secures $5.8M in funding round
Siftwell Analytics, a company providing insights to community health plans to help improve member outcomes, has secured $5.8 million in the company's first venture capital funding round.
Led by former Cardinal Innovations Healthcare CEO Trey Sutten and General Counsel Chuck Hollowell, the two co-founders are using their expertise in the managed care space to help members proactively using machine learning and AI.
VC firms AlleyCorp, Arkin Digital Health, Tau Ventures and The Charlotte Fund all invested in Siftwell for this funding round. The company will use the funds to enhance its products, Sutten told Fierce Healthcare.
Axle Health lands fresh funding for home health software
Axle Health developed scheduling and workforce management software focused on the home health care space. The startup nabbed $4.2M in seed funding, bringing its total raised to $4.4 million The initial seed round was led by Pear VC, with an additional round of funding led by TRAC VC with participation from existing investors.
Axle’s software platform helps solve the staffing shortage being felt across the healthcare space, by dramatically improving the utilization of home-based clinical staff. Axle’s proprietary logistics engine reduces the time clinicians spend driving between patients’ homes, which allows them to spend more time caring for patients.
The Axle platform includes a mobile app for clinicians, an operations dashboard for office teams, proprietary logistics algorithms to optimize scheduling, and a patient engagement and booking solution. Axle is integrated with a wide range of EMRs, and the entire Axle product can be customized and accessed modularly via API.
Founded in 2020, the company launched its new software platform for existing home health care providers after spending several years building out a vertically integrated care delivery platform. Axle Health participated in the Y Combinator accelerator in 2021.
The new funding will be used to hire additional software and machine learning engineers to continue building out the software platform. I
Tuned brings in $3.2M for hearing health benefits
Tuned, a digital hearing health company providing preventive and comprehensive hearing health for employers, secured an oversubscribed $3.2 million seed extension led by Unum Group, with participation from Distributed Ventures. Tuned's latest round brings its total funds raised to $8.2 million.
Undiagnosed hearing issues cost employers up to $9,100 per person annually, representing $133 billion in U.S. healthcare spending compared to those without hearing loss. With 50 million Americans experiencing unaddressed hearing issues, and 60 percent of them in the workforce, Tuned addresses a critical gap in employee benefits and represents a key piece of talent attraction for employers, according to the company.
Led by the largest online group of audiologists in the U.S, Tuned is the only telehealth platform that supports the entire continuum of hearing care, from prevention to intervention. Today, Tuned’s comprehensive hearing benefit is available to more than 1.4 million people.
The company’s latest investment from Unum Group will help Tuned grow its commercial team, expand its roster of audiologists to serve more employers, and develop innovative new offerings for customers.