Censinet Secures $7.8M Series A Funding to Advance Patient Care Risk Management Platform

On April 24, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Censinet, a third-party risk management company for healthcare providers, announced it had raised $7.8 million in its Series A financing round. The round was co-led by HLM Venture Partners and Cedars-Sinai Health System, with participation from Schooner Capital, LRVHealth, and Excelerate Health Ventures.

Censinet is a healthcare company founded in Massachusetts, USA, in 2017. The company is dedicated to building a patient care risk management platform (the Censinet Platform) for third-party providers of healthcare services, with a particular focus on managing the risks of disruption or failure in clinical applications and medical devices caused by cyberattacks (such as data breaches and ransomware). Through its unique one-click assessment feature and digital vendor directory, the Censinet Platform reduces the time required to assess healthcare service vendor risks from weeks to seconds, while automating inefficient workflows and providing continuous, real-time visibility into evolving risk predictions.

It is reported that since its inception, Censinet has secured seed and venture capital financing in 2017 and 2018, respectively, raising approximately $10.3 million to date.

Censinet will leverage its Series A funding to enhance the Censinet Third-Party Vendor Risk Management Software Platform (the “Censinet Platform”), expand its go-to-market team, and drive adoption of the Censinet Platform among healthcare providers.

Censinet Platform is currently the only tool built by a third-party risk management platform to manage potential risks in patient care for healthcare providers.

“Censinet addresses the critical cybersecurity and risk management challenges that chief information officers and chief information security officers in the healthcare industry must tackle today,” said Vin Fabiani, Partner at HLM Venture Partners. “We are delighted to partner with Cedars-Sinai to help Censinet collaborate with leading healthcare institutions worldwide and accelerate the adoption of its third-party risk management platform.”

Darren Dworkin, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Cedars-Sinai Health System, stated, “Third-party risk management is inefficient and costly, particularly in resource-constrained environments. We recognize that leaders in third-party risk management face significant opportunities to deliver solutions and enhance compliance. Censinet’s specialized focus on healthcare, combined with its experienced team and commitment to prioritizing security in research and development, positions it to assume a leadership role in this critical area.”

Ed Gaudet, CEO and Founder of Censinet, stated: “Censinet is beginning to disrupt the status quo of vendor risk management in the healthcare sector by offering a solution that significantly saves time and costs. The participation of HLM Ventures and Cedars-Sinai is highly anticipated, and together we will improve management practices for healthcare providers and reduce risks associated with patient care services.”

HLM Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm that provides funding to emerging companies focused on healthcare services, health information technology, and medical devices, managing over $500 million in venture capital. HLM supports entrepreneurs in transforming innovative ideas into market-leading businesses by offering guidance on financial structuring, resource allocation, strategic planning, strategic introductions, and talent acquisition. HLM has been a primary investor in some of the most innovative healthcare companies, including Change Healthcare, Teladoc, Nordic Consulting, ArroHealth, TYRX Medical, MedVentive, Trizetto, and Healtheon.

Cedars-Sinai is a nonprofit academic medical center that stands as a national leader in delivering high-quality, patient-centered healthcare services, with operations spanning primary care and specialized pharmaceutical research. Since its founding in 1902, Cedars-Sinai has continued to grow, consistently innovating and establishing new quality standards in patient care, research, education, and community service. By developing novel therapies and training physicians and other professionals entering the healthcare field, it shapes the future of the global healthcare industry.

Schooner Capital, founded in 1971, is a Boston-based investment firm primarily engaged in venture capital, growth equity, and public securities investments. The company pursues multi-industry, multi-regional investment strategies, focusing on portfolio companies’ recurring revenue, capital efficiency, and sustainable competitive advantages. Its venture capital investments are concentrated in the technology and healthcare sectors, while its public equity investments focus on emerging and frontier markets.

LRVHealth is a venture capital firm founded in 2000, formerly known as Long River Ventures. LRVHealth focuses on investing in and building novel digital health, medical device, and medical diagnostics companies. It invests in U.S.-headquartered digital health companies across sectors including healthcare IT, healthcare services, medical devices, and medical diagnostics, primarily participating in Seed, Series A, and Series B funding rounds.

Excelerate Health Ventures (EHV) is an investment firm focused on healthcare IT, with a particular emphasis on seed- and early-stage healthcare software and services companies that operate under a SaaS B2B business model. Leveraging its connections and relevant experience with healthcare providers, payers, and strategic partners, EHV evaluates, guides, and grows its portfolio companies.

(Compiled by Tang Lulu)