Wheel, an Austin, Texas-based vendor of telehealth services and staffing formerly known as Enzyme Health, has launched today alongside the news of a $13.9 million in Series A raise. CRV led the round, which also included Tusk Venture Partners and Silverton Partners.

WHAT THEY DO

Founded in 2018, Wheel’s strategy is comprised of two major avenues: telehealth staffing opportunities for practitioners, and a scalable telehealth platform for companies.

The former provides interested doctors with telehealth-specific training, and employs machine learning to match them to employment opportunities at “meticulously vetted companies.”

Those companies are also Wheel’s customers, as these organizations gain access to the network of telehealth practitioners delivered via the tech-powered platform.

“We created Wheel to change the way healthcare works — because, ultimately, happier clinicians make healthier patients,” Michelle Davey, CEO and cofounder of Wheel, said in a statement. “With a clinician-shortage crisis looming, virtual care can make a tremendous impact on patient access and care delivery. At Wheel, we believe that by building the infrastructure that powers healthcare's digital revolution and championing clinicians on the front lines of patient care, we will create the momentum needed to move the industry forward.” 

Wheel closed $1.7 million in seed funding from Silverton Partners and other private investors back in 2018.

WHAT IT’S FOR

Outside of supporting its launch, Wheel did not specify how the new funds would be used.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

A handful of tech platforms are serving trained healthcare staff in search of new employment.

Last May Trusted Health raised a $20 million Series A to fuel the expansion of its platform for nurse job hunting support. Nomad Health is a well known online healthcare job marketplace that just half a year ago raked in $34 million through new equity and debt financing. Its round shortly followed that of NextStep Interactive, which scored $30 million for its digital training and screening business.

ON THE RECORD

"The telehealth market is shifting rapidly from simply replicating doctor-patient visits over the phone and web to a broader spectrum of virtual care. While virtual care offerings are booming, it’s often difficult for these companies to recruit, train and manage their clinician network,” Kristin Baker Spohn, venture partner at CRV, said in a statement. “We invested in Wheel because they provide companies with a flexible and reliable workforce of clinicians, and the tech-enabled platform to empower these clinicians to practice quality care at scale.”