Babylon
Health, a U.K.-based startup whose fast growth has been shadowed by concerns
about the efficacy of its telemedicine apps, has raised $550 million in Series
C funding, elevating the company to unicorn status. Saudi Arabia’s Public
Investment Fund (PIF), which invests on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government,
led the round that valued the company at $2 billion with a total of $635
million raised.
The new
capital will enable the company to expand into more markets, including the U.S.
and Asia, Babylon said, and it will also bolster its artificial intelligence
capabilities on the platform, which serves 4.3 million users worldwide. An
unnamed U.S. health insurer and a fund of global reinsurer Munich Re also
invested. Vostok New Ventures, which already holds a 10% stake in Babylon,
previously said it would participate in the new round,
as did Sweden’s Kinnevik.
With an
aim of cutting healthcare costs and broadening access, Babylon secured deals
with the U.K.’s National Health Service to have its apps replace local
doctor visits with video consultations and a chatbot that doled out advice on
whether to see a doctor. It released a new artificially
intelligent chatbot that promised to give diagnostic advice on
common ailments without human interaction. Its progress, however, was
unsteady after doubts were raised about the services’ capabilities. Interviews
with current and former Babylon staff and outside doctors revealed broad concerns that
the company has rushed to deploy software that had not been carefully vetted,
then exaggerated its effectiveness, Forbes revealed in
December. The company disputed those claims, saying its software goes through
many clinical tests. The company also came under fire for failure to follow up with patients
receiving mental health treatment. At the time, Babylon blamed
problems with the NHS referral system.
Any
blunders don’t seem to have slowed the company’s momentum.
Led by
CEO and Founder Ali Parsa, an Iranian-born former banker, Babylon has also
secured contracts with Prudential and Samsung. It says it now delivers
4,000 clinical consultation a day and one patient interaction every ten
seconds.
“We
have a long way to go and a lot still to deliver,” Parsa said in a statement.
“While the burden of healthcare is global, the solutions have to be localized
to meet the specific needs and culture of each country.”
Thanks for sharing the blog, seems to be interesting and informative too. Can you suggest some of the interesting places to visit for doctor video consultation
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