Wheel, an Austin, Texas-based telehealth staffing and services vendor, today shared that it raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Ventures.

Existing investors CRV, Silverton Partners, Tusk Venture Partners and J.P. Morgan took part in the round, along with new investor Future Shape.

As the lead investor, Lightspeed Senior Advisor Dr. Ling Wong will join Wheel’s board of directors.

Today’s Series B raise brings Wheel’s total funding to $66 million after it launched with $13.9 million last year.

WHAT IT DOES

Wheel provides two main services: telehealth staffing opportunities for clinicians and a scalable virtual care platform for companies.

Providers can use Wheel to get trained, credentialed and matched to virtual care employment opportunities with its “highly vetted” customer companies. The platform offers employment opportunities for physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, physician assistants and behavioral health specialists.

For companies interested in providing virtual care, Wheel provides them with its network of clinicians and a white-label technology platform. It works with digital health companies, tech companies, retailers, labs and medical device companies.

WHAT IT’S FOR

Coming out of 2020 with 300% company growth, this investment will enable Wheel to continue growing, according to the announcement. Specifically, the company plans to invest in its technology and clinician networks as well as growing its team and partnering with additional companies.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Wheel is not alone in helping healthcare providers find work. Nomad Health, which runs an online healthcare job marketplace, raised $34 million in 2019. Gento, a tech-enabled home-health staffing startup, picked up $5 million in Series A funding last year.

Trusted Health scored $20 million in Series A funding in 2019 for its technology platform that helps nurses find jobs and negotiate pay. There’s also NextStep Interactive, which operates a digital healthcare training platform.

Doximity, a self-described social networking platform for doctors, acquired healthcare-staffing firm THMED last year. The deal saw THMED change its name to Curative as it works to connect medical groups and healthcare facilities to clinicians.

ON THE RECORD

“Imagine being able to pull out your phone and instantly get connected with the best doctor for your care needs," Wheel CEO and cofounder Michelle Davey said in a statement.

"We're building the technology to make this complex and expensive feat a reality for millions of patients. If we actually want to expand access to healthcare, we need the industry to recognize there's a better way to reach patients than simply bringing the broken system online. That's why we're powering the next generation of healthcare companies and clinicians to make virtual care work for everyone."