Papa – developer of an on-demand service booking app that connects seniors with personal caregivers, doctors, transportation, and grocery shopping – raised an additional $18 million for its Series B round led by Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation.
Additional investors in this round include Canaan, Initialized Capital, Sound Ventures, Pivotal Ventures with Magnify Ventures, Behance Founder, CPO of Adobe, Scott Belsky, the founders of Flatiron Health and their group Operator Partners, and other high-profile investors.
The latest round comes less than a year after a $10 million Series A funding round in October 2019. Founded in 2018, Papa has raised $31 million to date. The company employs less than 200 people with an office in Miami, Florida.
The company plans to use the new fund to expand its team, launching services in new states across the country, expanding its platform, and growing its dedicated efforts to combat loneliness and social isolation in older adults and families.
Today, Papa serves families in 17 states in the U.S. and plans to be in all 50 states by January 2021; and according to the company, its has grown 20% month over month since inception and expects to increase 5x year over year in membership growth, which has accelerated due to COVID.
Papa provides companionship to older adults and can help with everyday tasks, including transportation, light household chores, navigating health benefits, doctors’ appointments, prescription refills, grocery delivery, and more. “We created Papa with the singular goal of supporting older adults and their families throughout the aging journey,” said Papa Founder and CEO Andrew Parker. “The COVID-19 pandemic has unfortunately only intensified circumstances leading to loneliness and isolation, and we’re honored to be able to offer solutions to help families during this difficult time.”
Digital health companies raised $6.3 billion in the first half (1H) of 2020, compared to $5.5 billion in 1H 2019, a 24% increase year-over-year in the funding amount. Read more
Image Credit: Papa