Google’s cloud division announced a $100 million strategic investment in Amwell (formerly American Well). Amwell provides a telehealth software platform to healthcare providers and systems. The platform is used over 2,000 hospitals and 55 health plan partners with over 36,000 employers, covering over 80 million people, the company said.
As part of the investment, Amwell entered into a multi-year, strategic partnership with Google, which will further expand its virtual care offerings across the U.S. “Together, we will be able to offer an incredible array of integrated capabilities and help millions of people around the world access better care. Our collaborative work could literally democratize healthcare,” said Ido Schoenberg, MD, Chairman, and CEO of Amwell.
Amwell has also filed with SEC for initial public offering (IPO), and Google’s strategic investment will be a concurrent private placement at the IPO price. The number of shares to be offered, and the share price range is not determined yet. The company was advised on this transaction by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
The Google investment comes less than three months after a $194 million Series C financing round in May 2020, which was led by Allianz X, the investment arm of German insurance company Allianz led the funding round with participation from drugmaker Takeda.
According to Mercom data, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, through its venture capital investment arm of GV (formerly Google Ventures), has invested almost $2 billion in digital health companies since 2010. GV invests in established and late-stage companies – recent investments include PatientPing ($60 million), DNAnexus ($100 million), Aledade ($60 million), Element Science ($145 million) and Verana Health ($100 million).
Founded in 2006, Amwell raised over $800 million to date. The company employs more than 500 people with offices in Boston (HQ), Reston, Seattle, and Ramat Gan, Israel.
Amwell’s revenue was $114 million and $148.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, and 2019, respectively, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 30.6%. It incurred net losses of $52.3 million and $88.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, and 2019.
The IPO announcement comes on the heels of the recent merger announcement between telehealth provider Teladoc and Livongo Health, in a deal valued at $18.5 billion, which was one of the largest digital health M&A transactions ever.
Telehealth companies raised a whopping $2 billion venture capital in the first half of 2020. Recently, digital health mental health consultation platform Mindstrong secured $100 million in Series C funding from new and existing investors, including General Catalyst, ARCH Venture Partners, Foresite Capital, 8VC, Optum Ventures, and What If Ventures.
Image Credit: Amwell
