Kaia Health, a creator of an AI-powered chronic back pain management app, closed a $26 million Series B funding round.
Optum Ventures, Idinvest, and capital300 co-led the funding round with participation from existing investors Balderton Capital and Heartcore Capital, and Symphony Ventures.
The New York-based startup, founded in 2016, has raised $50 million to date, including an $8 million funding round in 2019, which was led by Optum Ventures.
Kaia Health plans to use the new funds to build out its digital therapy solutions for back pain, and expand into new conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The funds will also be invested in the company’s computer vision technology and clinical research to conduct more research & development (R&D), according to the company.
The company is also in the process of launching a third digital therapeutic for knee and hip osteoarthritis. The lockdown measures have pushed digital therapeutics from the early-adoption phase to the mass-market phase, as many traditional therapies were no longer accessible, the company said in a statement.
Kaia Health offers digital therapeutics programs to help people with chronic back pain and COPD. It develops a smartphone-based 2D motion tracking technology that provides users real-time feedback on their exercise performance. Kaia Health has enrolled more than 400,000 users to-date in their digital therapy program.
“Similar to the explosion we’ve seen in doctor to patient telehealth, the healthcare challenges arising from COVID has also highlighted the need for new care delivery models,” said Kaia Founder and President Konstantin Mehl. “This has accelerated adoption of new approaches to care, such as those we’re developing at Kaia, which were already showing great promise. We are excited by the opportunity to drive our business forward, given the heightened awareness of the merits of digital therapies among payers, companies, care providers and consumers, and the growing importance of delivering care in the home. We believe we are on the precipice of moving our solutions from the early adopter set to mass market, and this funding will help us aggressively expand the reach and impact of our platform.”
Digital chronic disease management companies raised over $2.7 billion since 2016, according to Mercom data. Early this year, HelpAround, an Israel-based AI-enabled digital health company that helps chronic patients simplify day-to-day management of treatments by delivering the information and support resources through their smartphones, raised $6 million. IQVIA led the round with participation from Windham Ventures and other existing investors.
