US-based companionship service provider Papa received $150m yesterday in a series D round led by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, taking its total funding to $240m.
Tiger Global Management, TCG, Canaan Partners, Seven Seven Six and Initialized Capital also took part in the round, which valued the company at $1.4bn.
Papa’s service offers companion ship to older adults, families and other vulnerable people who may suffer from loneliness through its Papa Pals network. It also provides services such as meal preparation, technology assistance, light housework and transportation.
Tiger Global led Papa’s $60m series C round in April 2021. Mass media group Comcast’s corporate venturing unit, Comcast Ventures, led its $18m series B round in September 2020. Canaan, Initialized Capital, Pivotal Ventures and Sound Ventures also took part in that round, as did angel investors like Scott Belsky.
The company had raised $10m in an October 2019 series A round led by Canaan with participation from Pivotal Ventures, Sound Ventures, Y Combinator and Initialized Capital.
Andrew Parker, Papa’s founder and chief executive, said: “On average, every two minutes in the United States a Papa Pal starts a companionship visit with a Papa member.
“That figure will dramatically increase when an additional 26 health plans start on January 1, and as more plans and employers add Papa over time. The collective physical, social and emotional benefits of this companionship are vast, and the opportunity to reduce loneliness and to support health where it happens — at home — is boundless.”
