- The latest round takes total investment to $52 million and will be used to expand internationally and help millions live longer at home
- Birdie's platform helps care agencies improve efficiency across most day-to-day care operations
- The care industry is at a breaking point with 1.4m older adults unable to access the care and support they need
LONDON, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading home healthcare tech platform Birdie has announced $30m in Series B funding as it aims to radically improve the lives of millions of elderly people. The round, which will be used to accelerate the company's growth in the UK and further its impact in the European market, was led by investment firm Sofina, with OMERS Ventures and follow-on investment from Index Ventures. The news comes as home care reaches crisis point, with half a million waiting for help in England and carers leaving en masse due to loss of pay.
Co-founded in 2017 by Max Parmentier, the B-Corp certified company is on a mission to reinvent home healthcare and empower older generations to age confidently in their own homes. It offers an all-in-one software solution that supports all areas of home care, removing many of the administrative and regulatory burdens placed on care professionals.
Helen, a care professional at Alina Homecare, said, "Previously, we were writing long paragraphs and updates, but now it just takes 5 minutes to complete each visit note on the app. If there is a concern that can't be actioned during the visit, the office will follow up on the client's needs right away. The best part is that throughout all of this, family members have peace of mind that their loved one is being looked after, as they can track the care being received through the family app."
In the last year alone, demand for Birdie's suite of products has increased by 3 fold as care providers came under enormous pressure to run an efficient care operation with staffing constraints. The solution helps manage the entire care process; from scheduling visits, creating care plans, preparing audit reports and invoicing to full-service care management, enabling professionals to deliver care safely and efficiently and decreasing time spent on non-critical admin.
On the investment, Max Parmentier, co-founder and CEO of Birdie, said, "Our vision has always been to create a world where everyone can age with confidence at home. In five years, we have become the operating system for care providers, building the largest home healthcare dataset for the elderly in Europe. With millions of clinical data points collected each month, we plan on deriving personalised and predictive insights to enable a value-based healthcare delivery model. This latest investment, just over one year from the last round, is not only a validation of Birdie's growth trajectory, but also an endorsement for the potential of our social impact."
With a 91% increase in the number of people waiting to receive care across the UK, Birdie is fundamentally transforming the care system, helping care communities identify early points of intervention.
Harold Boël, CEO of Sofina, said, "The home healthcare tech sector seems ripe for an innovative leader like Birdie to catalyse the necessary social change. Aligned with our strategy to back growing and sustainable businesses, we're excited to join them on their mission to enrich the lives of millions of older adults through preventive and personalised care at home."
A SaaS-based solution at its core, Birdie is aiming to become the technology hub that facilitates information sharing with both health practitioners and care communities for delivering personalised, preventative care at home. Birdie's team of over 100 employees currently works with over 700 care businesses, including Alina Homecare, Medacs Healthcare and Care at Home Group, in delivering millions of personalised homecare visits every month. The platform supports 35,000 care recipients and 8,000 family members who now have access to vital information about their loved ones.
"What really sets Birdie apart is the combination of an intuitive product experience coupled with a true partnership approach to digital transformation," added Stéphane Kurgan, Venture Partner of Index Ventures. "We continue to be impressed by the team's passion, calibre and commitment to social change and are proud to accompany them on their quest to reinvent care for the better."
Images of the Birdie team and platform can be found here.
About Birdie
Launched in 2017, Birdie is the leading home healthcare tech platform helping the care community deliver personalised care at home. On a mission to reinvent care, Birdie believes the elder generation should have vibrant and happy lives as they age in their own home. Birdie's all-in-one solution supports millions of care visits every month, equipping care providers with the tools they need to deliver better quality care and improve efficiency across most day-to-day operations. The B-Corp certified company was recently named as a top two Home Health Tech provider in the cohort of top 150 Most Innovative Digital Health startups by CB Insight in 2021. Birdie is headquartered in London and employs a team of over 100 employees. See https://www.birdie.care for more information.
About Sofina
Sofina is a Belgian family-controlled investment company, listed on Euronext Brussels and controlled by the descendants of Gustave Boël. Sofina aspires to be the preferred partner of entrepreneurs who lead growing companies by backing them with patient capital and supportive advice. Common vision and strong alignment of interests with its partners are paramount in the deployment of the strategy. Sofina operates in Europe, Asia and the United States in four focus sectors: Consumer & Retail, Education, Digital Transformation and Healthcare. For more information, visit www.sofinagroup.com.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture firm investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs from seed to IPO. We partner with founders with bold dreams that challenge the status quo to build enduring companies. With offices in San Francisco & London, we invest in entrepreneurs all over the world. Generational Index-backed companies include Adyen, Datadog, Deliveroo, Discord, Farfetch, Robinhood, and Roblox.
About OMERS Ventures
OMERS is one of Canada's largest defined benefit pension plans, with CAD$121 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2021. OMERS Ventures currently manages CAD$2 billion and contributes to the retirement of more than half a million municipal workers in Canada. OMERS Ventures has made more than 50 investments in disruptive technology companies across North America and Europe, including DuckDuckGo, Deliverect, Hopper, Hootsuite, Wefox and Xanadu. www.omersventures.com.
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