Kaiser Permanente Ventures (KPV), the strategic investment arm of US-based healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente, closed its fifth fund at $141m yesterday.
The unit’s corporate parent was among the fund’s backers, as were health insurance provider Tufts Health Plan and healthcare providers Henry Ford Health System and Highmark Health, the latter through its Highmark Ventures subsidiary.
Founded in 1997, KPV began investing the following year and now has $500m of assets under management and a portfolio that has included healthcare data analytics platform Health Catalyst, electrocardiogram developer iRhythm Technologies and medical device maker Vapotherm.
The unit concentrates on developers of technologies that can address unmet needs in the health system, such as healthcare-focused enterprise IT, digital health products, medical devices, healthcare services, medicines and diagnostic technologies.
Sam Brasch, KPV’s senior managing director, said: “The success of Fund V underscores our proven ability to identify and meaningfully support entrepreneurs tackling the most pressing challenges facing the US healthcare system.
“I am excited by the opportunity to build on our successes as we look to advance innovations that improve health and health delivery in the United States.”
