Agetech's Most Prestigious Award
John Hopper was a true Agetech pioneer. Over a decade ago he founded the first ever venture fund dedicated to this field, before it even had a name (back then the few of us talking about it were alternating between silvertech, eldertech and gerontech, eugh). He somehow convinced two risk-averse organizations, senior living investment bank Zielger and group purchasing organization Link-age, to pool capital and together start investing in early-stage agetech startups.
I was incredibly lucky to get to know him before his untimely passing in 2022. Despite working towards starting a (theoretically) competing fund, John was incredibly helpful, open and even shared deals for us to collaborate on.
John dedicated himself to driving innovation while inspiring growth in people, teams, and relationships. In his honor, the John Hopper Impact Award was created to recognize exceptional agetech innovators following in his footsteps.
Finalists receive a complimentary invitation to the What’s Next Venture Summit where the winner will be announced. The winner will also receive an invitation to the exclusive Ziegler Link•age Fund Symposium in July, and an opportunity to select an Advisor from a group of highly experienced individuals including senior living provider leaders, serial entrepreneurs, and venture specialists, for a one-year engagement.
There is no more prestigious award in Agetech. Nominate an exceptional Entrepreneur or First-time Fund Manager right now - you'll be honoring John's legacy and they'll thank you forever.
March Highlights
🎉 BrightSpring Health successfully acquired multiple organizations, including a home health provider, a behavioral therapy provider, and a long-term care pharmacy, just two months after its IPO. The company has also indicated its intention to pursue more such deals throughout the year. (Home Health Care News)
☠️ Better Therapeutics, a digital therapeutic for diabetes management that SPAC'd in 2021 at a valuation of $187 million, recently announced plans to wind down its operations, reduce its workforce, and seek a buyer for its remaining assets. Earlier in the week, its board of directors decided to delist the company's securities facing the threat of the forced removal of its shares from the Nasdaq. (Fierce Biotech)
Reveller, a healthcare software company that uses AI and machine learning to empower payors in managing quality improvement, risk adjustment, and member management, raised $65 million in debt financing to fund future acquisitions. (Axios)
🎉 Senior Helpers, a national provider of both home care and home health services, was acquired by middle-market PE firm Waud Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. The firm plans to capitalize on Senior Helpers' strong brand and successful franchise model as part of its larger home care strategy. (HomeCare Magazine)
Vesta Healthcare, which improves outcomes by making it easy for at-home caregivers to share information with payors and clinicians, quietly raised $51.8 million. (SEC)
Empathy, a provider of AI-driven bereavement services to employers and life insurers, raised a $47 million Series B. The funding will be utilized to further develop its tools and advance its mission to “redefine bereavement care". (TechCrunch)
🎉 Pharmacy Quality Solutions, a leading provider of pharmacy-payor performance technology, was acquired by Innovaccer, which uses AI to unify patient data across systems and care settings, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition aims to accelerate value-based care in pharmacy settings by adding medication performance reporting into the equation, while also creating the largest distribution of providers and pharmacy network combined. (Business Wire)
HiLabs, which "cleans" healthcare data using AI to improve clinical, payment, and provider data accuracy for health insurers, raised $39 million in Series B funding. The funds will be used to scale and grow its solutions. (MedCity News)
Nourish, a telenutrition platform connecting people to registered dietitians covered by insurance, raised a $35 million Series A to expand its network of registered dietitians and payors. (Pulse 2.0)
NewRetirement, a digital-first retirement financial planning service, raised $20 million. The funds will be used to build capacity, scale support, and integrate AI to provide more personalized recommendations. (Coverager)
BrainCheck, a digital cognitive brain health assessment tool, raised $15 million. The funds will be used to bolster its product offerings, expand its clinical evidence, and continue eliminating the errors caused by paper and pencil assessments. (Senior Housing News)
🎉 Healthwise, a patient and member health education and engagement solution, was acquired by consumer health information provider WebMD for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will tuck into WebMD's Ignite brand - formed almost one year ago from the combination of WebMD Provider Services, Krames, Mercury Healthcare, and The Wellness Network - which provides an array of services to payors and providers . (PR Newswire)
Float, a gig-economy platform that connects nurses with extra time to individuals desiring at-home infusion, raised a $10 million Series A to "supercharge" growth. (PRWeb)
Roshal Health, a provider of on-site & on-demand ultrasound and ECG services, raised $10 million to increase its market presence and continue its mission of alleviating imaging technician staffing shortages nationwide. (FinSMEs)
🎉 Beyond HME, a tech-enabled resupply service to the home medical equipment (HME) industry, was acquired by Acu-Serve, a HME billing and collection services provider, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition falls in line with the company's commitment to enhancing its service offerings. (HomeCare Magazine)
Chamber Cardio, a population health platform enabling cardiology teams to participate in value-based care arrangements, raised $8 million in seed funding to scale its operations and reach nationwide. (MobiHealthNews)
🎉 The Smarter Service, a provider of tech concierge services inside senior living communities, acquired tech workshops for seniors provider Senior Savvy for an undisclosed amount. As part of the deal, Senior Savvy founder Abbie Richie - best known as the host of Tech Tuesday on Foresight TV & Tech Talk on Your Life Arizona (CBS3) - joined as the new Director of Communications. (Yahoo!)
Foundation Health, which aims to help payors and pharma companies disintermediate pharmacy benefit managers and sell medications directly to consumers, raised $6 million in seed funding. (Business Insider)
🎉 Kind Dining, a hospitality training solution for senior care providers, was acquired by DiningRD, a provider of foodservice software to post-acute and senior care facilities, for an undisclosed amount. As part of the acquisition, Kind Dining founder Cindy Heilman will stay on with DiningRD and help bring the new offering to their 5,300 clients via both virtual and onsite training. (PR Newswire)
🎉 SourceEdge, a consulting shop that helps modernize the claims and business systems of payors, was acquired by Alivia, an AI-based payment integrity solution combating fraud, waste, and abuse, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition aims to provide end-to-end claims management while also creating a tech-enabled services practice providing reviews, audits, and more. (PR Newswire)
Bone Health Technologies, developer of the "OsteoBoost Vibration Belt" used for osteoporosis prevention and treatment, raised $5 million to further clinical research, product development, and commercialization of its flagship product. (FemTech Insider)
As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Ride Aid sold its personalized population health Health Dialog business to Carenet Health, a provider of engagement, clinical support, telehealth and advocacy solutions. The acquisition aims to deliver greater efficiency and outcomes-based financial performance for Carenet's payor and provider clients. (Business Wire)
Conduce Health, a holistic value-based care marketplace connecting payors to multi-specialty physicians, raised $3 million in seed funding to expand its operations and reach. The platform helps manage specialty care risk, streamlines contracting, and uses actuarial and data science to identify the right specialist for the right individual. (FinSMEs)
🎉 Aural Analytics, provider of clinical-grade speech analytics, was acquired by Linus Health, a digital health solution enabling the early detection of Alzheimer's and other dementias, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition aims to enhance Linus Health's accuracy and enable the development of additional clinical tools. (Linus Health)
TeleMed2U, a multi-specialty telehealth platform, received a majority equity investment from PE firm Kayne Anderson. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. The funds will be used to support operational and growth initiatives, including proprietary technology development and population health management opportunities with payors. (Accesswire)
🎉 Rebellis Group, founded in 2020 to help MA plans with strategy, stars, change management and more, was acquired by Toney Healthcare, a utilization, care management, and compliance solution provider for managed care insurers, for an undisclosed amount. As part of the transaction, Rebellis Group co-founder & CEO Betsy Seals was named President of Toney and will sit on the board of the combined entity. (PR Newswire)
Around the World
Aktiia, a Swiss developer of an optical continuous blood pressure monitoring bracelet, raised $30 million in funding to accelerate the commercialization of its device already used by over 60,000 individuals across 44 countries. (FinSMEs)
The CareVoice, a Shanghai-based embedded health startup that helps insurers integrate health and wellness into their platforms to improve member experiences and outcomes, raised a $10 million Series B. The funds will be used to partner with insurers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, as well as develop the next generation of its CareVoiceOS insurer operating system. (TechCrunch)
Kismet, an Australian care discovery platform helping alleviate pressures faced by family caregivers, raised $8.2 million to enhance its product development and expand its team. (FinSMEs)
Sugar.fit, a Bangalore-based digital health solution addressing type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, raised $5 million in Series A funding. The funds will be used to expand its product range, increase brand presence, and accelerate R&D. (FinSMEs)
Hedia, a Copenhagen-based developer of digital therapeutics for diabetes management, raised €3M in seed funding to scale its flagship product, the Hedia Diabetes Assistant, and launch a Glooko-integrated holistic diabetes management solution. (ArcticStartup)
Metyos, the Parisian developer of a chronic kidney disease monitoring device similar to the diabetes-focused FreeStyle Libre, raised €2.3M in pre-seed funding to run its initial clinical trials. (Finsmes)
Yurtle, a British employee benefit platform providing care management and care insurance to assist workers in caring for their loved ones, raised £1.37 million. (Coverager)