US-based healthcare administration system developer Cityblock Health raised $20.8m yesterday in a series A round backed by Sidewalk Labs, the urban infrastructure subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet.
The round was led by venture capital firm Maverick Ventures and included contributions from fellow VC firm Thrive Capital as well as unnamed strategic investors and assorted angel investors.
Cityblock is developing a software suite called Commons that helps primary healthcare, behavioural health and social services providers coordinate their operations more efficiently. It was incubated within Sidewalk Labs and was unveiled in October 2017.
Commons facilitates cost calculations and communication with patients and will be marketed to clinicians working under US government health insurance plans Medicaid and Medicare.
The series A cash will be used to launch Cityblock’s first clinical operations, finalise additional clinical partnerships and recruit new team members. It said in a statement it has now raised $23.2m altogether, but did not release details of its earlier funding.
Ambar Bhattacharyya, a managing director at Maverick Ventures, will join the startup’s board of directors while Jared Weinstein, general partner at Thrive Capital, will take a board observer role. Dan Doctoroff, chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, is already a board member.
Doctoroff said: “The benefits of new technology must reach everyone who lives in cities, no matter their income level or background. Cityblock embodies this belief – combining innovation with high-quality, integrated care to tackle healthcare disparities that cities around the world are struggling to address.
“The incredible investor group and board of directors that this team has assembled demonstrates how hungry the world is for new solutions to these challenges.”