Virtual primary care service PlushCare has raised $23 million in Series B funding. Transformation Capital led the round, which included GGV Capital, WTI and other unnamed individual investors. Along with its 2016 Series A, this brings the company's total raise to $31 million.
WHAT THEY DO
PlushCare's platform connects consumers across all 50 U.S. states to an online video visit with a doctor. The service says that it treats more than 3,500 medical conditions, ranging from common infections such as a cold, sore throat and pink eye to longer term medical concerns such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension and depression.
Providers can send any necessary prescriptions to the patient's local pharmacy, and users who sign up for a PlushCare membership can follow up with the doctor or PlushCare's care team through an in-app text messaging feature. Those sign-ups run users $14.99 per month, with first-time visits coming at a cost of $99, or just a copay, depending on whether the service is covered by the patient's insurance.
WHAT IT'S FOR
The company said that the raise would help accelerate its development road map and fuel growth. Of note, PlushCare will be doubling its staff from 50 to 100 employees over the next year and investing much of the new funding on increased marketing, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
“As virtual primary care adoption has increased rapidly due to COVID-19, and we continue to focus on expanding our services and offerings to provide patients with high quality primary care in a time of uncertainty,” Ryan McQuaid, CEO and cofounder of PlushCare, said in a statement. “With this investment, we look forward to continuing to build the most trusted, affordable, and accessible primary care provider as we believe virtual healthcare is here to stay.”
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Digital primary care companies have been raking in the money during the first half of 2020. Last month Carbon Health raised $28 million to grow its staff and fuel an expansion of its digital offerings, while 98point6's text message-based service said in April that its $43 million raise would expand its offerings in response to spiking demand. Similarly, tech-enabled primary care brand One Medical kicked off the year with a strong IPO that has only improved over the course of the COVID-19 crisis.
ON THE RECORD
“This kind of company isn’t built overnight. It takes time to build a company like PlushCare and earn a 90 [Net Promoter Score] and the respect of consumers,” Jeff Richards, managing partner at GGV Capital and PlushCare board member, said in a statement. “PlushCare’s business has tripled year to date, and 95% of consumer visits were for non-COVID related issues – a very positive sign for the health of telemedicine as we head into 2021 and beyond. Consumer behavior has shifted for good.”
