The field of venture-backed companies tackling diabetes management has become crowded. Livongo Health, Alphabet-backed Onduo, which is part of Verily, and Omada Health all offer solutions to help people with diabetes manage their conditions.
Now, Virta Health—launched in 2014 with an ambitious goal to reverse Type 2 diabetes in 100 million people by 2025—is making some moves. The company was founded by technology executive Sami Inkinen, who found out through routine health tests that he was at high risk for Type 2 diabetes despite being an active athlete.
Inkinen researched the science of Type 2 diabetes and a growing body of scientific research into carbohydrate restriction and the impact on metabolic health, according to the company.
The company provides diabetes patients with access to virtual coaches who work with patients on lifestyle changes and nutrition with an emphasis on a reduction in carbohydrate intake. The aim is to get patients off medications.
The company scored $93 million in series C funding led by San Francisco-based Caffeinated Capital. Early investors Venrock, Obvious Ventures, Creandum, Playground Global and SciFi VC also participated in the funding round.
Virta Health has raised a total of $166 million to date.
Here's a snapshot of other health IT funding deals of $5 million or more in January:
- Healthcare map: Startup Komodo Health is creating a massive healthcare map that captures 15 million new clinical encounters each day from hundreds of sources. The company offers a real-time view into patient healthcare journeys to help life sciences companies and payers detect disparities in care and identify interventions, the company said. Komodo Health closed a $50 million in series C funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Oak HC/FT also joined the round alongside previous investors including IA Ventures and Felicis Ventures.
- Women's health: Arlington, Virginia-based Advantia Health, a national provider of women’s healthcare, announced a $45 million investment by BlueMountain Capital Management. This past year Advantia acquired Heartland Women’s Healthcare in the Midwest and Pacify, a telehealth app offering on-demand support to new mothers.
- CRISPR drugs: Mammoth Biosciences banked a $45 million series B funding round as it looks to double down on its next-generation gene-editing tech, FierceBiotech reported. Financing was led by Decheng Capital with participation from Mayfield, NFX, Verily, Brook Byers, Plum Alley and Pacific 8.
- Provider search and scheduling: Kyruus secured $42 million in a series D round led by Venrock and Highland Capital Partners, with financing from other VCs such as Providence Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. The company’s technology helps health systems match patients with the right providers across different points of access.
- Drug development: Canadian company Deep Genomics has got off a $40 million series B round led by Future Ventures alongside Amplitude Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Magnetic Ventures, and True Ventures, FierceBiotech reported.
- Chronic diseases: Novome Biotechnologies, a biotech startup engineering living medicines for chronic diseases, secured $33 million in a series A financing. DCVC Bio led the round, joined by earlier investors 5AM Ventures, Alta Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments and Mayo Clinic.
- Mental health benefits: Modern Health scored $31 million in a series B funding round to expand its mental health benefits platform for employers. The round was led by Founders Fund and John Doerr with continued investments from Kleiner Perkins and Afore Capital.
- Bundled payments: Startup Aver has developed a platform for bundled payments and value-based healthcare solutions. The company secured a $27 million series C. The round included investment from Cox Enterprises as well as current investors Drive Capital, Heritage Group, Hearst Ventures and NCT Ventures.
- Healthcare AI: Pieces Technologies landed $25.7 million in series B funding led by Concord Health Partners with participation from Children's Health of Dallas and OSF Healthcare System. The company uses analytics and artificial intelligence to predict patient clinical outcomes.
- Cell therapy: Kyverna Therapeutics partnered with biotech giant Gilead Sciences to pursue its goal of treating or curing autoimmune diseases using patients’ own cells. Kyverna has raised $25 million in series B funding from Gilead, Vida Ventures and Westlake Village BioPartners.
- Data analytics: Clinical analytics solutions company Covera Health landed $23 million in series B financing, led by Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors, including Prism Ventures.
- Consumer experience platform: Zipari, an insurance software startup, nabbed $22.5 million in a series B funding round. Vertical Venture Partners led the round which included Health Velocity Capital, Healthworx, the investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and health insurer Horizon Healthcare Services
- Digital mental health benefit: New York City-based Spring Health, a mental health care platform, closed on a $22 million series A funding round led by Northzone, Equinox Ventures and Able Partners.
- Vaccine biotechnology startup: A company developing vaccines and viral therapies for illnesses ranging from the flu and respiratory viruses to dengue fever landed a $20 million series B investment round. Codagenix’s latest funding round was led by Adjuvant Capital with participation by Euclidean Capital and Topspin Partners.
- EHR technology: Cloud-based electronic health records company DrChrono scored a $20 million growth capital round from ORIX Growth Capital to spur expansion and increase market share through further investment in the technology platform.
- Senior care: U.K.-based startup Elder HQ places live-in help with seniors based on needs and personality. Elder HQ has raised £8.2 million (about $10.7 million) in funding with investors including Acton Capital and MMC Ventures.
- Cancer media company: Cancer patient knowledge platform SurvivorNet raised $10 million in a series B funding round led by London-based asset manager Gatemore Ventures.
- Medical ride coordination: Ride Health, a real-time transportation coordination platform, closed a $6.2 million seed funding round led by Activate Venture Partners. The capital raise is joined by Newark Venture Partners, Anthro Ventures, BioAdvance, Leading Edge Ventures and Startup Health.
- Digestive care solution: Digital gastrointestinal health company Vivante Health snapped up $5.8 million in series A1 funding. New York-based NFP Ventures and Nashville-based FCA Venture Partners participated in the round.
- Digital rehabilitation: Berlin-based Caspar is a digital therapy platform app to help doctors and therapists track patients’ recovery process before, during and after a hospital stay. Caspar raised €5.3 million in series A funding (about $5.8 milion) led by Ananda Impact Ventures, with participation from earlier investors Atlantic Labs, Think.Health Ventures and German entrepreneur Helmut Nanz.
And … just under the threshold:
- South Korean startup Nunaps raised 5 billion won, or about $4.2 million, to develop and test its software-based treatments for neurological disorders. The company’s first product, Nunap Vision, provides perception training using a virtual reality headset to help treat visual field defects caused by brain damage, such as from strokes, FierceBiotech reports.