CityBlock Health, a startup that offers primary care, behavioral health, and virtual care services for lower-income communities in the U.S., raised $53.5 million in a Series B+ funding round.
The new investment round was led by Kinnevik AB, with participation from AIMS Imprint of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Alphabet.
Existing major investors, Maverick Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Town Hall Ventures, Thrive Capital, Emblem Health, 8VC, and Echo Health Ventures also joined the round.
CityBlock Health intends to use the fresh funds to expand its clinical programs and further develop its technology.
According to the company, 110 million people in the U.S. living in lower-income communities who desperately need better-integrated care. The Alphabet spinoff CityBlock plans to serve these underserved communities. It primarily serves Medicaid and dual-eligible patients by offering them primary care, behavioral health, and substance abuse treatment services. The company has primary care clinics in Brooklyn, Queens, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company developed a virtual pregnancy support program for expecting parents. The program provides access to OBGYNs, pediatricians, and other specialists through virtual appointments and access to support groups.
“To keep our members healthy and out of the hospital, providers must go beyond the common understanding of physical drivers of health to address the fundamental barriers to health reflected by poverty. So much of what determines individuals’ health outcomes is rooted in the communities in which they live, work, and socialize. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, providing social and behavioral health services to our members was core to our integrated care model. And during a pandemic, our members’ needs for those services, and social connection, increased at the same rate as their medical needs,” wrote co-founders Iyah Romm and Toyin Ajayi in a blog post.
CityBlock has raised over $120 million to date, including a $65 million in a Series B funding in 2019, which was round led by Redpoint Ventures.
Telemedicine companies led the funding activity during 1H 2020, raising almost $1.8 billion in VC funding. The funding amount increased by 52% compared to 1H to 2019, when $896 million was raised.
