Today population health startup Unite Us announced that it has closed a $150 million Series C funding round. Iconiq Growth led the round, with participation from Emerson Collective, Optum Ventures, Transformation Capital, Define Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Town Hall Ventures and other healthcare partners.

This comes roughly two years after the company raised $35 million in Series B funding to fuel its growth and boost the company into unicorn territory with a valuation of more than $1.6 billion.

WHAT IT DOES

The New York-based company is focused on the social determinants of health. Its technology is focused on connecting community-based organizations to health organization, insurers, governments and nonprofits.

According to the company, the goal is to enable "whole-person" care. The platform enables organizations to make assessment and care plans and provide electronic referrals. It also has a decision-support tool. It allows bidirectional communications and alerts, and also outcome tracking.

So far the company is active in 42 states.

WHAT IT'S FOR

The company plans putting the new infusion of cash into growing its footprint across the country. It is also plans on growing its Unite Us Insights and Payments platforms.

"We are excited to double down on our vision for a person-centered, coordinated, nationwide social care network," Dan Brillman, CEO and cofounder, said in a statement.

"Our community-based partners' ability to drive improved outcomes is critical in a value-based care world, and we know that bringing the necessary technology into every community will accelerate our impact."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Unite Us isn't the only startup looking to address social determinants of health. Cityblock Health, a startup using a tech platform to address health disparities and provide cost-effective care services, scored $160 million in Series C funding in December, which also brought it to unicorn status.

Over the last year social determinants of health have come into the spotlight during the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC reports that some racial and ethnic minorities groups have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and the places where "people live, learn, work, play and worship" can impact the risks and outcomes of COVID-19.

"What COVID-19 put a big magnifying glass on is our lack of public health infrastructure," Taylor Justice, cofounder and president of Unite Us, said during a HIMSS20 digital session, last year.

"I think cities and states, once they started to transition away from just a pure clinical response, started to realize with the increased unemployment numbers there's this unprecedented stress about to hit their human and social service systems."