US-based virtual care workforce provider Wheel secured $150m in series C funding yesterday from investors including enterprise software provider Salesforce as telehealth services continue to thrive during the covid-19 pandemic.
Venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners and investment firm Tiger Global Management co-led the round, which included Coatue Management, CRV, Tusk Venture Partners and Silverton Partners, bringing the company’s total funding to $216m.
Founded in 2018 as Enzyme Health, Wheel has built a remote healthcare service that helps clinicians and other medical care providers virtually deliver services including urgent, behavioural, paediatrics and chronic condition care management as well as consumer diagnostics.
The company will use the cash to further improve its software tool in a bid to offer more customised digital care to end-users, in addition to increasing its white-labelled diagnostic offerings, enabling patients to access testing and follow-up care.
Michelle Davey, Wheel’s chief executive and co-founder, said in a blog post: “With this funding, our team is well-positioned to accelerate this next chapter of digital health innovation. We are excited to have the support of an incredible line up of investors who not only believe in our vision but also see Wheel as the company to lead the charge and put great care within everyone’s reach.”
Lightspeed Venture Partners had previously led a $50m series B round for Wheel in May 2021 that included returning backers CRV, Silverton Partners, Tusk Venture Partners and JP Morgan as well as new investor Future Shape, lifting its overall funding to $66m.
CRV had already led the company’s $13.9m series A round in early 2020, investing alongside Tusk Ventures and Silverton Partners, the latter having led a $1.7m seed round two years before.
Although remote care is not new, the ongoing covid-19 health emergency that began in 2020 helped normalise and accelerate video conferencing apps and other virtual-first tools in diverse settings such as education and social life.
Digital healthcare in particular witnessed considerable growth according to research and consulting group Gartner, whose analysts said that while the pandemic reduced funding for some technology spaces, virtual care was “dramatically accelerated” and was the technology area to receive the most investment in 2021.
Telemedicine was singled out as a significant trend among healthcare-focused corporate venturers in 2021, Manatt Venture Fund’s Lisa Suennen, DNV Ventures’ Kaare Helle and McKesson Ventures’ Dave Schulte all told Global Corporate Venturing recently.
Telepsychology specifically is suited for the digital model as the treatment does not usually involve physical examinations. Consultancy Deloitte told Fierce Healthcare demand for mental care apps has risen sharply due to stress and anxiety driven by the pandemic-linked lockdown and self-isolation regulations, and global spending on such services is expected to reach nearly $500m in 2022.
Just yesterday, another US-based young adult-focused mental health platform developer, Mantra Health, secured $22m in series A funding. Truepill, which runs a similar platform for care providers and patients and which counts pharmacy benefit manager Optum as an investor, completed a $142m series D round in October 2021.
Image courtesy of Wheel Inc.
