Health tech funding snapshot—Honor scores $140M for in-home care; Lark Health lands $70M, expands Anthem partnership

Lark Health, an integrated chronic care management platform, scored $55 million in a series C funding round led by King River Capital last month.

The company, which uses artificial intelligence to help patients make the necessary behaviorial changes needed to manage their conditions actually stick, also secured a $15 million venture debt credit facility with Trinity Capital and Bridge Bank. The round includes new investors Franklin Templeton, SteelSky Ventures and Olive Tree Capital as well as existing Lark investors Lightspeed Ventures, Asset Management Ventures, Jonathan Fielding, M.D., of UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Weili Dai, co-founder of Marvell.

The startup has raised a total of more than $100 million in equity and debt funding to date.

Lark Health officials said they plan to use the funds to partner with more payers and telehealth companies to create virtual care programs tailored to people who want to prevent or manage chronic conditions. Lark’s platform provides care for conditions like diabetes, hypertension, anxiety and stress and its outcomes are on par with in-person programs, they said.

Lark also is expanding its relationship with major insurer Anthem by powering the health plan’s Sydney mobile app as well as becoming the preferred provider for the diabetes prevention program for Anthem-affiliated health plans. 

"Our mission has always been to provide personalized and immediate care driven by AI to people with and at-risk of chronic conditions, and this new funding and expanded relationship with Anthem are tremendous votes of confidence in Lark's approach to virtual care," said Julia Hu, CEO of Lark Health. "It is more important than ever before that millions of people at-risk of or managing chronic conditions have access to compassionate care at home, and we are excited to work with innovative commercial payers, telehealth providers, and others to build the future for virtual care."

Here’s a snapshot of other health IT funding deals of $25 million or more in October:

  • Senior care: In-home healthcare technology company Honor scored $140 million in series D funding. The round was led by Baillie Gifford and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates. It also included participation from Rock Springs and existing investors Prosus Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and 8VC.
     
  • Text-based primary care: Major investors bankrolled on-demand digital primary care startup 98point6 with $118 million in a series E funding round. The round was led by the growth fund of L Catterton, a large, consumer-focused private equity firm, and Activant Capital. Additional funding came from new and returning investors including the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.
     
  • Personalized health plans: Bind, a company that offers "on-demand" health plans, scored a $105 million series B funding round. Bind's approach to health insurance innovation has attracted big investors including Ascension Ventures, the venture arm of the Ascension health system, and UnitedHealth. Bind has raised nearly $250 million in capital in four years.
     
  • Remote care collaborations: Avail Medsystems, a developer of telemedicine software for the procedure room, snagged $100 million in a series B funding round led by D1 Capital Partners. The Palo Alto, California-based company provides an end-to-end system that helps surgical teams in operating rooms collaborate with remote medical experts for live procedures and clinical training.
     
  • Fitness tracker: Wearables company Whoop closed a $100 million series E financing led by IVP. Participating investors include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Accomplice, Two Sigma Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Thursday Ventures, Nextview Ventures, Promus Ventures, Cavu Ventures, D20 Capital and LionTree Partners. Professional athletes investing include Kevin Durant, Patrick Mahomes and Eli Manning.
     
  • Robotics: Dental robotics company Neocis raised $72 million in a series D funding round led by DFJ Growth with additional backing from Vivo Capital, Mithril Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners, Section 32 and robotic surgery pioneer Fred Moll, co-founder of Intuitive Surgical and Auris Health, Fierce Biotech reported.
     
  • Smart breast pump: Willow, a startup company making a new wearable breast pump for women, closed an additional $55 million in its series C funding round. The round was led by long-standing investors NEA, Meritech Capital Partners and Lightstone Ventures as well as new investors including Perceptive Advisors.
     
  • Care collaboration platform: TigerConnect landed a $45 million series D investment led by HealthQuest Capital, a growth capital firm that invests in commercial-stage companies. Other investors included New Leaf Ventures, Montreux Growth Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Invus and Industry Ventures.
     
  • Health data exchange: Health IT company Datavant scored $40 million in series B funding led by Transformation Capital and with participation by new investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc. and Cigna Ventures. Existing shareholders also took part, including Roivant Sciences and Flex Capital.
     
  • Digital mental health: Cerebral, a mental health telemedicine company, secured $35 million in series A funding. Oak HC/FT led the round with participation from Westcap, Liquid 2 Ventures, Gaingels, Air Angels and others.
     
  • Modern hearing aids: AI-powered hearing aid company Whisper landed $35 million in a series B round of funding. Quiet Capital led the round, with participation from previous investors Sequoia Capital and First Round Capital. IVP joined the round as a new investor.
     
  • Personalized gene therapy: Software company Vineti closed a $33 million extension to its series C financing. The round was led by Cardinal Health, with participation from Marc Benioff and existing Vineti investors including Canaan Partners, Threshold Ventures (formerly DFJ), Section 32, Casdin Capital, Novartis Pharma AG, McKesson Ventures and LifeForce Capital, along with other undisclosed entities.
     
  • Health data network: Human API, a company that standardizes health records using artificial intelligence, raised over $20 million in series C funding backed by investors Samsung Ventures, CNO Financial Group, Allianz Life Ventures and Moneta VC. Existing investors BlueRun Ventures, SCOR Life and Health Ventures and Guardian Life Insurance Company also participated.