Digital research platform Owkin scored $25 million in funding yesterday. The round was led by Bpifrance Large Venture with participation from Cathay Innovation and MACSF.
The platform aims to connect doctors, researchers, scientists and other stakeholders. It uses artificial intelligence to help create data sets and distribute the information to the stakeholders. Its main product, Owkin Studio, is able to gather biomedical images, genomics and clinical data. It is also creating a new COVID-19 Open AI Consortium.
The new funding will go towards more research and development, specifically in the COVID-19 tool.
Radiology-focused startup Braid Health raised $9 million in seed and series A investments. The round was led by Lux capital with participation from 01 Advisors and Rucker Park Capital.
The company has created a teleradiology platform that combines AI technologies and board-certified radiologists. It plans to use the new funds to hire new team members, continue to build an AI-powered diagnostic platform, and develop a platform that can connect to networks of healthcare providers.
New York-based Wellth has closed a $10 million Series A funding round headed by prior backers Yabeo and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. AXA Venture Partners, New York Life Ventures, NFP Ventures, I2BF Global Ventures and the Partnership Fund for New York City each expanded upon their prior investments, while Rock Health and DaVita Venture Group joined as new backers. (Editor's note: Healthbox, part of MobiHealthNews' parent company HIMSS, manages the DaVita Venture Group fund making this investment.)
Wellth's mobile platform uses behavioral economics to encourage treatment adherence for payers or employers. It encourages scheduled check-ins where users submit a picture of the target behavior in their hand, which translates to monetary payouts at program milestones.
The company said that it will be using the funds to scale its platform so that it can support more substantial patient populations.
“We are very excited to see the progress Wellth has made in employing digital health innovation to finally align the interests of biopharma, payers, providers, and patients alike,” Dr. Debbie Lin, executive director of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Wellth board member, said in a statement.
TimeDoc, a chronic-care population-management platform, has wrapped up a $5.7 million Series A round led by Vocap Investment Partners. Grand Ventures, Serra Ventures, Waterline Ventures, Impact Engine, Break Trail Ventures, Chaifetz Group and Pat Welsh (cofounder of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe) took part as well.
The Chicago company has now raised more than $8 million since its launch in 2016. The new cash will help the company increase its sales capabilities, deepen its integration with EHRs, enable remote patient-monitoring features and build new tools to improve patient outcomes.
"We are excited to have both the financial support and domain expertise of our new investors. They will help us accelerate our vision of building the premier chronic management solution in the market. Our investor syndicate brings strong experience, perspective and relationships with marquee health care organizations," Will Boeglin, CEO of TimeDoc, said in a statement.
Every Mother, an app-based video-workout subscription service for recent and expecting mothers, has closed a $1.5 million seed funding round. Courtside Ventures headlined the raise, which also included Serena Ventures, Techstar Ventures, The Fund and a handful of angel investors.
Every Mother's programs target fitness and physical challenges specific to pregnancy – for instance, repairing diastasis recti (ab separation) or relieving back pain and urinary incontinence. Its raise will help the company grow its service "to meet an ever-growing demand," and teased the release of data from a prospective non-randomized trial sometime during the summer.
"From our launch until now, our clinically proven approach has struck a chord with moms at all points in their lives who were relieved to know they didn't just have to accept perpetual discomfort around their core," CEO Allison Rapaport said in a statement. "Through this new round of funding, we will now not only be able ensure that we have the best talent to help us expand and scale, but we will have immediate access to partners that we can grow with and gain strategic guidance from to further our mission of providing safe, convenient, effective fitness solutions to every mother."
Helium Health, a leading healthcare technology provider in West Africa, has just secured $10 million in investment from a Series A funding round, co-led by the UAE’s Global Ventures. The investment round was also co-led by the Africa Healthcare Masterfund (AAIC), along with participation from China’s Tencent; Japan’s Ohara Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; New York’s HOF Capital; Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator; VentureSouq in Dubai; and Nigeria’s Chrysalis Capital, Kairos Angels, and Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company.
The startup, which has fast-tracked its telemedicine offering during the COVID-19 pandemic, said it will use the funding round to grow its current customer base in Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia, as well as to support expansion into new markets in North and East Africa, and French West Africa this year.
“We are excited to partner with Helium Health as the need for healthcare data and inclusion in emerging markets is exacerbated by the pandemic," Noor Sweid, general partner at Global Ventures, said in a statement. "Helium Health has the opportunity to solve large problems through its software and help accelerate healthcare accessibility."
