SPR Therapeutics scores $37M for pain relief tool and other digital health fundings

Also: Healthcare staffing company Hublo raises $25.5 million, insurtech startup Insurights rakes in $22 million.
By Emily Olsen
10:53 am
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Photo: Kwanchai Lerttanapunyaporn/EyeEm/Getty Images

Device-maker SPR Therapeutics raised $37 million in a Series D funding round led by Revelation Partners with participation from River Cities Capital and Mutual Capital Partners.

SPR plans to use the cash to speed the commercial use of its pain-relief device, the SPRINT Peripheral Nerve Stimulation System, fund clinical studies and invest in new technology.

“This additional funding will allow us to accelerate the already strong adoption we are seeing of our SPRINT PNS System within the interventional pain management community,” said Maria Bennett, CEO, president and founder of SPR Therapeutics, in a statement.

“There is clear interest from physicians and patients in avoiding the use of opioids and permanent implants when possible. Our goal is to ensure that all patients have access to our SPRINT System as an effective, non-opioid, treatment.”


European healthcare staffing startup Hublo raised €22 million ($25.5 million) in Series A financing from Revaia and Acton Capital.

The funding will go toward expanding its digital platform that helps healthcare facilities find and recruit new employees. Hublo currently operates in France and Germany, and it said it plans to expand to four new countries over the next year and half. Hublo also aims to hire 200 new workers by 2023.

"We are convinced that improving the healthcare system in Europe requires simplifying the daily life of healthcare professionals, so that they can focus on their core business and care. Our mission at Hublo is to develop and deploy the simplest and most efficient digital HR management tools possible for these professionals,” Antoine Loron, president and cofounder of Hublo, said in a statement.

“We are therefore building a team in France, Germany and soon elsewhere in Europe, to support the acceleration of this digital transformation. We are only at the beginning of this adventure, and we are recruiting several hundred talents who share our ambition."


Insurights, an AI-enabled platform that helps users navigate their health benefits, announced Tuesday it raised $22 million in seed funding. 

The round was led by Group 11 with participation from Cresson Management, Good Company and Insurtech Israel. 

The new funding will be used to build out the company’s team with healthcare and insurance experts.

“The way U.S. workers engage with their health benefits is broken. We believed there had to be a better, more user-centric and innovative way for employees to understand what their health plans actually cover,” Guy Benjamin, co-CEO and cofounder of Insurights, said in a statement.

“At Insurights, we strive to simplify the healthcare process, leading to healthier, happier employees.”


Lydia AI, which makes an AI product to provide insights for health insurers, closed an $8 million Series A+ funding round led by Information Venture Partners with participation from new investors including 500 Global.

The company, formerly known as Knowtions Research, chose Taiwan as a pilot market for its product, and plans to expand into Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia using the influx of capital. It also aims to hire 25 new team members. 

“We believe that new sources of alternative data and AI will create digital insurance products that are easier to buy and can protect more people, especially those underserved by the industry today,” Anthony Lee, CEO of Lydia AI, said in a statement.

“In Asia alone, non-treatment due to lack of affordability amounted to $92 billion USD. With more data and improved predictive accuracy, we can help insurers make better risk decisions that transform customer experience for the next billion people.”

Lydia raised $5 million in Series A funding in 2018. The additional investment brings the company’s total raise to $14 million.


Australian startup Perx Health raised $3 million AUD ($2.2 million USD), led by AirTree Ventures, and expanded its operations into the U.S.

Perx offers a digital platform that aims to better manage chronic illnesses through behavior change, like helping patients keep track of treatment plans, medications and exercise.

The company’s CEO and cofounder Scott Taylor is leading Perx’s U.S. headquarters in Chicago.

"Lack of patient engagement is the number one challenge for health plans in delivering digital care programs," Taylor said in a statement. 

"Our team recognizes that there's no silver bullet for behavior change and that people are motivated differently. So rather than applying a one-size-fits-all theoretical approach, we use algorithms and empirical data to unlock behavior change for all individuals.

"This precision behavior change approach can engage patients 4-5 times daily and consistently for over six months. Our mission is to impact those vulnerable populations who have been left behind by the first wave of digital health programs."

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