US-based telehealth platform operator MDLive has closed a $50m funding round co-led by insurance providers Cigna and Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) together with venture capital firm Health Velocity Capital.
Pharmaceutical group Novo Holdings and investment firm Industry Ventures also participated, and Tiba Aynechi, partner at Novo subsidiary Novo Ventures, has joined MDLive’s board of directors in conjunction with the round.
MDLive operates a cloud-based health services platform that offers round-the-clock consultations for medical, dermatological and behavioural conditions from certified physicians, counsellors, psychiatrists and dermatologists.
The company has also developed an artificial intelligence-based digital health assistant dubbed Sophie. MDLive claims to have more than 27 million users and will use the money to accelerate growth.
Tom Richards, Cigna’s global leader for strategy and business development, said: “Choice, personalisation and affordability are critical to improving the US health care system. Telehealth impacts all three of these factors and we are continuing to invest in MDLive as a proven leader in the space.
“As a result of our partnership with MDLive to offer virtual visits with care providers, we have seen improved customer satisfaction, as well as a 17% decrease in total medical cost and 36% decrease in emergency department utilisation for that population.”
Private equity firm Bedford Funding invested $50m in MDLive in 2015, after healthcare system Sutter Health and VC firm Heritage Group had co-led a $23.6m funding round for the company in 2014.
Another healthcare provider, Sentara, also participated in the 2014 round, as did alternative investment firm Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and its then chairman John Sculley.