Issue 038
Welcome back to E&O Mondays, the free newsletter from Exits & Outcomes that features health tech puzzles and trivia, new and under-the-radar funding news, paid content teasers and other digital health odds and ends.
E&O Mondays.
In this issue:
- Eight under-the-radar or not-yet-reported health tech funding deals.
- And the reveal of the answer to the last Health Tech Rebus Puzzle.
- But wait: If this was forwarded your way, why not sign up as a paying subscriber to E&O by clicking right here…
Eight secret (or under-reported) health tech funding deals from the past two weeks
Instead of rehashing the dozens of funding deals you’ve already read elsewhere, I focused this week on a number of deals that you likely have not yet read about. (These are all first in E&O — as far as I can Google.)
* Please note: These rounds are unannounced so the full amount the company raises and eventually announces may be higher than the numbers below.
$17.9 million – FitOn – (This funding did get a mention in a site called LATechWatch last week, but no one else seemed to notice the SEC filing.) FitOn’s co-founder and CEO is Lindsay Cook, who formerly worked at Fitbit for five years as the company’s VP of consumer devices and product marketing. FitOn offers a library of workouts led by trainers and operates on a freemium model. The exercise classes are all free. The company makes money by up-selling premium features like personalized diet plans. Site
$8 million (includes conversion of certain SAFEs) – Pomelo Care – Pomelo Care’s backers include Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital.
“We plan to partner with employers and payers to address some of their highest priorities: improving maternal and infant outcomes and reducing disparities while lowering costs. We will do this by providing free, personalized, and evidence-based virtual care to mothers and infants through pregnancy and the baby’s first year.” Site
$4.2 million – Alucio –
“Alucio is dedicated to the development of innovative software applications specifically for the life sciences industry. Alucio’s flagship product, Beacon, is a cloud-based scientific exchange platform that enhances scientific dialogue and engagement between life science companies and healthcare professionals.” Site
$2 million – Robin – This company offers mental health coaching to students (but mostly markets to their parents).
“At Robin, we believe (as do leading psychologists) that a healthy state of social-emotional well-being can be taught and practiced. Happiness and fulfillment are not only a matter of luck and circumstance, but rather, can be achieved by empowering young people with the skills of connection, resilience, decision-making, self-awareness and purpose. Welcome to Robin, a vibrant and supportive community that connects students with inspiring coaches to empower emotional growth. We are completely reimagining social emotional learning in schools.” Site
$1.8 million – ArcheMedX –
“Ready, the Company’s digital platform for clinical trials, enables Sponsors and CROs to architect decisions that accelerate site initiation and preparation, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce the risk of underperforming trials. The platform serves as a closed loop system that analyzes unique behavioral data to identify leading indicators of site readiness, provides actionable alerts to managers, and automatically re-engages staff and site personnel around critical information.” Site
$1.6 million – HUED – Google’s Black Founders Fund was one of the first to invest.
“HUED is a platform that diversifies patient/doctor connections by allowing patients to search, review and book Black and Latino doctors that specifically understand their physical, mental and cultural needs.” Site
$1.5 million (SAFE) – Even Health – Even uses VR tech in its anonymous digital counseling program, which it has tested with the military and at Ochsner Health system.
“Even Health is a mental wellness company focused on helping individuals find balance and connection during life’s expected and unexpected challenges. Even Health is the creator of Cabana, the first digital counseling platform designed for difficult conversations through anonymous group support based in virtual reality safe spaces.” Site
$423,000 – VeMiDoc –
“VeMiDoc is a telemedicine platform designed by physicians to facilitate access to healthcare in predominantly bilingual communities. We connect doctors and patients through a HIPAA-compliant telehealth application, providing cost-effective and rapid access to local, bilingual medical providers via any smartphone or tablet.” Site
Health Tech Rebus Answer
The answer to the Health Tech Rebus Puzzle from two weeks ago… “Mobile Medical Apps”
Incredibly, that was the official term the FDA adopted for (most of) what we now refer to as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). As always, many E&O readers got this right. A random selection of a few whose names start with the letter A:
- Alanna Moriarity, Content Marketing Manager & Brand Engineer, Wellframe (Follow Alanna on Twitter here and Wellframe here)
- Alex Hart, VP at Vive Collective
- Adam Chopko, Senior Director Corporate and Business Development, Teladoc Health
- Ashley Mateus PhD, VP Decision Support and Strategic Planning, Akili Interactive (Connect with her on LinkedIn here)
Correction: Ashley and at least one other reader pointed out that the supposed “apes” in the Rebus puzzle, which I included again below for reference, are actually monkeys. (They have tails.) As always, I regret the error and much else. New puzzle next week but here’s how to play last week’s if you missed it: This kind of puzzle is called a Rebus. Write down or think of the word for what’s pictured in each box as a starting point. Then swap letters (if you see =), or remove letters (when you see -), or add letters (when you see +) at the beginning, middle, or end of the words as noted. Then sound it out. Hint: Before the FDA called them software as a medical device (SaMD) the agency officially referred to them as…
