Employer health benefits company Gravie has garnered a whopping $179 million equity investment from General Atlantic with participation from existing investors AXA Venture Partners and FirstMark Capital. 

The Minneapolis-based company offers small and medium-sized businesses a health plan called Comfort, which it calls a comprehensive plan with zero copays on most common healthcare services such as labs and imaging, prescriptions, office visits and mental health services.

The company will use the funds to continue its growth through investments within the company, including expanding its Comfort platform. 

"We are excited to partner with the seasoned management team at Gravie and focus on helping the company fulfill its vision to lower the cost of healthcare while simultaneously improving health outcomes for members and their loved ones across the U.S.," Jon Michael Reese, principal at General Atlantic, said in a statement. "We are firm believers in Gravie's value proposition to its members and clients, and we are thrilled to support the company during its next phase."

In 2022, the company scored $90 million in Series E funding, with $75 million received in March and an additional $15 million in July. 

Netherlands-based Vitestro, the maker of an autonomous device for blood collection, scored €12 million ($12.9 million), led by California-based Sonder Capital alongside existing and new investors. 

Dr. Fred Moll, managing partner of Sonder Capital, will be added to Vitestro's board as a nonexecutive member. 

The company's device utilizes ultrasound-guided, AI-based 3D reconstruction with robotic needle insertion to collect a user's blood. The device is still undergoing clinical studies, and the company anticipates it will be introduced into the European market in 2024. 

The funds will be used to speed up product development, initiate production and prepare for EU market authorization. 

"This financing round marks a new phase of growth for Vitestro, which brings the company closer to its mission of improving the venipuncture procedure for hundreds of millions of patients per year. We look forward to growing the business and transforming patient care with Sonder Capital, leveraging their expertise in successfully commercializing medical robotic technologies," Toon Overbeeke, CEO and cofounder of Vitestro, said in a statement. 

Las Vegas-based Emulait, a company that designs baby bottles to mimic the structural anatomy of a mother's breast using 3D technology, secured $11 million in Series A funding led by "family offices" and private investors. 

Users download the company's mobile app to take digital scans of their breasts. The app then captures data points and uses 3D scanning technology to create a bottle nipple that replicates the anatomy and physiology of the mother's breast. The bottle tops come in various colors and have multiple milk holes to imitate the flow of a natural nipple. 

The latest round brings the company's total raised to $16 million.

Healthcare technology company Reveal HealthTech, which offers healthcare companies technology-based support, garnered $4 million in seed funding from W Health Ventures.

RevealHealth helps digital health companies implement their ideas in digital form, evaluate a company's current products and capabilities, and assist with engineering, clinical and operational processes. 

The funds will help the company grow its operations, hire new team members and enhance its technology. 

"Reveal's differentiated approach makes them the ideal player to catalyze the positive change towards a tech-driven healthcare ecosystem. We're thrilled to partner with Sanchit and his leadership team, who possess extensive expertise in technology, healthcare strategy, and care delivery," Pankaj Jethwani, partner at W Health Ventures, said in a statement.

Cambridge-based PocDoc, an app-based platform that combines lateral flow tests with AI diagnostics to detect cardiovascular disease, added £2.5 million ($3 million) to its seed round, bringing its total seed raise to £5 million ($6.1 million). 

Existing investors Forward Partners and MMC Ventures led the extension, with participation from Simplyhealth Ventures, the founders of Graze and Skin + Me, and the owners of Mclaren and TAG Heuer.

Through the company's app, users complete a health questionnaire. They then perform the lateral flow test, which checks for biomarkers that may indicate signs of cardiovascular disease, take a picture of the test and upload it to the app where they can view the test results.

"We are excited to announce this investment which is a huge statement of confidence from our investors that we have a unique approach to solving a major global problem in healthcare – how to truly increase access and treat people faster, without adding further burden onto clinicians. We are thrilled to add Simplyhealth Ventures and look forward to working with them as we look forward to growing in the UK and beyond in the next 12 months," Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc, said in a statement.

Benjamin Knisely and Holly Pavliscsak will offer more detail during their HIMSS23 session "Natural Language Processing to Identify Unmet Needs in Military Medicine." It is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, at 11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. CT at the South Building, Level 1, in room S104.