Maven, a digital health company centered around the needs of women and families, has closed on $45 million in Series C funding. The money will help build out on-demand health care services such as benefits navigation, referrals, and 24/7 patient advocacy.
The New York City-based startup's biggest targets are companies looking to provide supplemental benefits to employees — a segment that it hopes will grow as the business world becomes more responsive to these kinds of health needs.
"The way that we position ourselves, we sell access to the largest network of providers focusing on family and women's health care in telehealth to companies," Vice President of People Karsten Vagner told Cheddar.
Founded in 2014, Maven has gotten financial support from celebrities Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, Mindy Kaling, and Anne Wojcicki. In the past year, the model has started paying off, as the firm tripled its client base to 100 companies.
"We believe that women's and family health is not just a vertical, but the core of a functional healthcare system," CEO and founder Kate Ryder said in a statement. "With this latest round of funding, Maven will continue to double down and invest in the long term to drive meaningful, sustained change."
Maven's virtual clinic, which connects patients with 1,700 providers, is one possible answer to the lack of women's and family health care options around the country.
Vagner pointed out that 50 percent of U.S. counties lack an OB-GYN, and 56 percent don't have a nurse-midwife, according to the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Maven sees its role as assisting women and families at every stage of their reproductive health needs, from fertility (egg freezing, surrogacy, and adoption) to pregnancy (delivery, postpartum, and early pediatrics) to the process of returning to work.
"One way that we really differentiate ourselves is talking about return to work," Vagner said.
Right now, 43 percent of women do not go back to their jobs after having a baby, according to Brie Weiler Reynolds of FlexJobs, a job search website
While helping individuals outsource their health care is Maven's business model, internally the young company is looking for fresh talent to bring into the fold.
"When I think about how we're going to invest, I care about hiring," Vagner said. "You don't get to build the products that we're building or provide the services that we're providing without great people on our team."
Icon Ventures led this round of funding. Existing investors Sequoia, Oak HC/FT, Spring Mountain Capital, Female Founders Fund, and Harmony Partners, participated as well.
"Maven is addressing critical gaps in care by offering the largest digital health network of women's and family health providers," Lead investor from Icon Ventures Tom Mawhinney, who will be joining the Maven board of directors, said in a release.
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