K Health Secures $25 Million in Series B Funding to Expand Virtual Care Services

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that K Health, a company providing artificial intelligence applications for consumer health education and primary care services, announced the completion of its Series B financing round, amounting to $25 million. This round was led by 14W, with participation from Comcast Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners, and undisclosed angel investors. This marks the company’s second fundraising effort within five months, following a $12.5 million raise in July of this year.

K Health’s application is designed to help healthcare consumers better understand their current health status. By analyzing a dataset comprising physician notes, laboratory results, treatment protocols, and prescriptions, the app informs users about how their health conditions are diagnosed and treated. In this way, consumers gain a general sense of the severity of their health issues. If needed, the application can also connect consumers with in-person primary care providers.

“We have developed an AI-based model that can converse with individuals about their health status, taking into account their gender, age, specific medical history, and symptoms,” said Allon Bloch, Co-founder and CEO of K Health. “In essence, we aim to replicate the entire process of a patient visiting a doctor: the patient describes their condition to the physician, who then provides a diagnosis and treatment recommendations.”

Image source: K Health official website

K Health stated that this round of financing will be used to launch the virtual visit feature of the K Health app. Through this app, users who have already input their case information into the K Health artificial intelligence system can choose to connect with certified primary care providers or emergency room physicians. The service will be available to adult patients and is expected to roll out in multiple states early next year.

Allon Bloch stated that this new feature is a logical addition for K Health, as it enables more timely care for users while reducing the time patients spend consulting with doctors.

K Health will launch telehealth services in most states in 2019, subject to telehealth licensure requirements in each state. “We have our own physicians, and we are rolling out new service features that enable patients not only to understand health information through our AI-powered app but also to share health data with doctors and receive remote treatment,” said Allon Bloch. “There is much we cannot disclose about what we are doing, but we are deriving significant value from the value chain and engaging in very detailed discussions with partners.”

This July, K Health secured $12.5 million in funding. Allon Bloch stated that since the previous round of financing, the company’s services have seen substantial growth, with app downloads surging from a few thousand to nearly 500,000—a momentum expected to continue over the next year.

K Health’s primary competitor is 98point6, a Seattle-based startup that recently raised $50 million for its SMS-based, on-demand primary care service. Meanwhile, peer company Carbon Health has merged with Direct Urgent Care, integrating its mobile patient application with in-person care services. K Health will compete with these companies in the primary care app market.

14W, founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York, USA, is a consumer-centric venture capital firm. It primarily invests in startups in the fields of internet, marketing, e-commerce, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and media.

Comcast Ventures, established in 1999 and headquartered in California, USA, is the captive venture capital arm of telecommunications conglomerate Comcast Corporation, primarily investing in the entertainment, communications, and digital technology sectors.

Mangrove Capital Partners, established in 2000, is a venture capital and private equity firm primarily investing in the internet and software-related sectors. Its mission is to help portfolio companies turn their visions into reality by providing financing, strategic growth advice, industry expertise, and professional networks.