Two of the most influential healthcare-focused corporate venturing units have joined as backers of the $60m third round of funding for Castlight Health, a US-based medical comparison website.
UK-based endowment Wellcome Trust and medical research organisation Cleveland Clinic, both ranked in the top 75 most influential healthcare corporate venturing units by global Corporate Venturing, joined Castlight’s series C round as the new investors, along with the principal division of investment bank Morgan Stanley and independent venture capital firm US Venture Partners.
Castlight’s $60m investment was also made up from its return VC investors, Maverick Capital, which led the round, Oak Investment Partners and Venrock. The portfolio company had previously raised $21m since starting in 2008.
Venrock and US Venture Partners had both previously backed the co-founder and chief executive of Castlight, Giovanni Colella’s, previous start-up.
Colella started medical email specialist RelayHealth, which was later sold to McKesson in 2006 after an initial strategic investment had been made the previous year by the firm and technology company Cisco.
Colella said: "The continued dramatic rise in health care costs has propelled consumer financial responsibility for medical care as companies seek to rein in benefit expense growth.
"Even the most educated person has no idea how much a given medical procedure or appointment will cost them because there is no information available."
Law firm O’Melveny & Myers counselled Castlight on the series C round.