Providence Ventures, the strategic investment vehicle for US-based healthcare provider Providence St Joseph Health, unveiled a $150m second fund yesterday.
The unit was formed in 2014 with an initial $150m of capital to invest in developers of healthcare technology that could be utilised within its parent’s health system. It also incubates startups at the hospital.
Aaron Martin, managing general partner of Providence Ventures, told Global Corporate Venturing at the time of the first fund’s launch that it would invest up to $5m for each transaction, but Providence Ventures said yesterday it will now seek to provide $5m to $15m per deal.
There are 15 companies in the unit’s portfolio including healthy behaviour-promotion platform Omada, mental health maintenance app producer Lyra Health, patient management software provider Kyruus, surgery-assistance app developer Gauss Surgical.
Providence Ventures intends to scale its team, which is spread across a Seattle head office and a Silicon Valley satellite, in 2019, as it targets investments in fields such as healthcare IT, medical devices and technology-enhanced care services.
Rod Hochman, president and chief executive of Providence St Joseph Health, said: “In healthcare, it is easy to say you want to be innovative. But, innovation will fall to the backburner if you don’t find the best opportunities and fund them.
“Through Providence Ventures, we have made a commitment to innovation by investing in and partnering with new companies that can help us find solutions to everyday challenges in healthcare. We are excited to build upon our existing partnerships, as well as establish new ones that can help us advance our vision of health for a better world.”
