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THE 21 BILLION-DOLLAR STARTUPS TO WATCH THAT ARE REVOLUTIONIZING HEALTHCARE IN
2020

Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer , Blake Dodge , and Megan Hernbroth
Updated
2020-11-05T15:15:00Z
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Lyra works with employers on mental health. Lyra Health

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 * 2020 has been a bumpy year for startups as they navigate the financial
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 * Even so, healthcare startups managed to raise hundreds of millions, with some
   hitting unicorn status.
 * Others have started gearing up to go public, while Grail has become the
   target of an $8 billion acquisition.
 * There are 21 healthcare startups that have reached unicorn status — or the $1
   billion and over valuation mark — according to valuations determined by
   PitchBook, CB Insights, and Business Insider's reporting.
 * For more stories like this, sign up here for Business Insider's daily
   healthcare newsletter.

2020 has been a pivotal year for healthcare and biotech startups.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare startups have been having a
big year of fundraising, initial public offerings, and billion-dollar
valuations. 

In the first quarter of 2020, healthcare startups raised $14.6 billion, up from
the $13.5 billion the companies raised in the same period of 2019. In the second
quarter, they raised $18.1 billion, a new record, per CB Insights.

That's led to a crop of newly minted healthcare unicorns in 2020, or startups
valued at more than $1 billion. Along the way, some like GoodRx and Amwell have
made their stock-market debuts, while others, including cancer-detection company
company Grail, have been the target of acquisitions. In September, sequencing
giant Illumina said it's buying Grail in an $8 billion deal. 

Business Insider rounded up the 21 healthcare companies currently valued at more
than $1 billion, according to PitchBook, CB Insights, and additional reporting. 

This article was updated on November 5 with new funding for Bright Health. It
was previously updated with Hims and Clover Health's plans to go public via
SPAC, Illumina's deal for Grail, and new funding for Oscar Health, and to remove
Alto Pharmacy and GoodRx and add Lyra, VillageMD, and Ro.


RANI THERAPEUTICS - $1 BILLION


Wikimedia Commons

The biotech startup Rani Therapeutics is taking on a problem that has eluded
companies for decades — finding a way to turn injectable drugs into pills for
people living with chronic conditions. The approach has the potential to upend
billion-dollar markets for drugs such as insulin and treatments, like Humira,
for autoimmune conditions.  

The San Jose, California, company raised $53 million in February from Alphabet's
venture-investment arm GV. To date, Rani has raised $142 million.




LYRA HEALTH - $1.1 BILLION


Lyra works with employers on mental health. Lyra Health

The coronavirus pandemic has encouraged employers to get creative with employee
benefits, and many are rushing to add benefits specifically for mental health. 

That's where Lyra Health comes in. The mental health startup has partnered with
major companies like Starbucks and Zoom to provide mental health services, like
regular visits with a therapist or coach, at no cost to employees. On August 25,
the startup announced it raised $110 million in Series D funding led by
Addition, pushing its valuation to $1.1 billion.

Its other investors include Adams Street Partners, Casdin Capital, Glynn
Capital, Greylock Partners, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, IVP, Meritech Capital
Partners, Providence Ventures, Tenaya Capital, and Venrock. 

Read more: Lyra Health attained unicorn status, cementing its position as a
frontrunner to attract more deals




RAKUTEN MEDICAL - $1.2 BILLION


Hiroshi Mikitani, the chairman and CEO of Rakuten Medical. Michael Seto

Headquartered in San Diego, Rakuten Medical develops precision-targeted cancer
therapies designed to treat solid tumors. 

The biotech is led by the Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, who is also
founder and CEO of the large Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten. Mikitani said he
was inspired to fund the cancer research after his father was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer in 2012.

Rakuten Medical has raised about $471 million, according to PitchBook. Both
Mikitani and Rakuten have invested in Rakuten Medical.




LYELL - $1.2 BILLION


A nurse reaches for blood samples taken from a patient receiving a kind of
immunotherapy known as CAR-T cell therapy at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center in Seattle. Immune therapy is the hottest trend in cancer care and its
next frontier is creating "living drugs" that grow inside the body into an army
that seeks and destroys tumors. AP

The San Francisco biotech company is focused on treating cancer with cell
therapies. Lyell's goal is to develop cell-based immunotherapies for cancer,
with a focus on CAR-Ts and solid tumors.

In March, the company raised a total $493 million in funding from undisclosed
investors. The company has raised a total of $851 million, according to CB
Insights, from investors including Foresite Capital Management, Arch Venture
Partners, and Altitude Life Science Ventures.

 




BUTTERFLY NETWORK - $1.3 BILLION


Charlotte Hu / Business Insider

Butterfly Network, a company that developed an iPhone-based ultrasound device,
wants to make the technology more accessible to doctors and healthcare workers
so they can make more precise diagnoses on the move. 

The device, called Butterfly iQ, plugs into the iPhone and isn't much bigger
than the phone itself. It's been approved by the Food and Drug Administration
for use in imaging the abdomen, bladder, and heart. 

In September 2018, Butterfly raised $250 million from investors such as
Fidelity, Fosun Pharma, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In total, the
company's raised $370 million. 




RO - $1.5 BILLION


Ro founders Rob Schutz, Zachariah Reitano, and Saman Rahmanian. Ro

Ro is a telehealth company that operates brands including Rory for women's
health, Roman for men's health, and Zero for smoking cessation. It treats nearly
20 conditions, including allergies, sexually transmitted diseases, and eczema. 

The startup in July raised $200 million in a round led by General Catalyst,
bringing its total funding to $376 million and its valuation to $1.5 billion. It
plans to use the money for remote monitoring tech for chronic conditions,
at-home testing, and a bigger engineering team. 

Besides its normal businesses, which also includes an online pharmacy, Ro's been
screening coronavirus patients with an online assessment and connecting them to
physicians. 

Read more: Telemedicine startups have raised hundreds of millions as the
coronavirus puts them to the test. Meet the 12 startups forging a new path for
healthcare.




HIMS - $1.6 BILLION


Hims cofounders Hilary Coles and Andrew Dudum Hims

Be it depression , hair loss, or erectile dysfunction, Hims wants men to "take
care of themselves" without fear of stigma via its suite of telemedicine and
personal care offerings.

Besides online primary care visits and therapy, it sells hair, skin, and sex
products directly to consumers. Its sister site, Hers, offers similar services
for women. Hims says its total funding to date is $260 million.

On October 1, the company announced that it was going public through a reverse
merger with blank-check company Oaktree, that valued Hims publicly at $1.6
billion. The deal, commonly referred to as a SPAC , was among a wave of similar
reverse mergers that allowed startups to forgo the traditional IPO process while
still taking advantage of public markets investors. 

Its investors include Atomic, Maverick Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Founders
Fund, 8VC, and Redpoint Ventures. 

Read more: Hot startups like Hims and Roman are marketing Viagra to young men
online, but their approach raises 2 big questions




HEARTFLOW - $1.6 BILLION


HeartFlow via YouTube

HeartFlow is trying to make the process of finding blockages in the heart a lot
less invasive. Using imaging from a CT scan, HeartFlow builds a 3D model that
pinpoints the blockages associated with coronary-artery disease, a heart
condition that affects millions of Americans and is the leading cause of death
in the US. 

HeartFlow is based in Redwood City, California, and reached unicorn status in
2018 after raising $240 million. In total, the company has raised $532 million. 




ZOCDOC - $1.8 BILLION


Zocdoc CEO Oliver Kharraz. Courtesy of Zocdoc

Zocdoc helps patients book doctors' appointments and check in for them —
everything from primary care to dental to optometry appointments.

Users can search based on procedures, conditions, and even a particular doctor
they might want to book an appointment with.

In 2019, the company changed the way it pays its doctors in some states, moving
from a subscription model to one that charges a per-booking fee. Some doctors
weren't been happy about the switch.

Zocdoc, which is based in New York, most recently raised $130 million in a
Series D round in August 2015, bringing its total raised to $223 million. The
company's last reported valuation is from 2015, according to PitchBook.

During the pandemic, Zocdoc introduced video visits for the providers on its
platform to use with patients. 

Zocdoc cofounder Cyrus Massoumi in September sued the company, claiming he was
pushed out of his role as CEO in an illegal "coup."




DEVOTED HEALTH - $1.8 BILLION


Devoted Health cofounder and executive chairman Todd Park. Alex Wong/Getty
Images

Devoted Health wants to reinvent how we care for aging Americans.

The company started selling Medicare Advantage plans in parts of Florida for
2019. In its second year, its enrollment jumped, in line with the company's
expectations. 

The company's plans might look a bit different from traditional insurance in
that Devoted plans to do more than pay for visits to doctors and hospitals. It's
also hiring nurses and other employees directed at keeping seniors healthier and
out of the hospital.

Devoted was founded in 2017 by brothers Ed and Todd Park. Before Devoted, Todd
Park cofounded the health IT company Athenahealth and served as the chief
technology officer of the US during the Obama administration. Ed Park, who
serves as Devoted's CEO, was formerly the chief technology officer and later
chief operating officer at Athenahealth.

In October 2018, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company raised $300 million in
a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing its total funding to $369
million.

Read more: We got a look at the slide deck that buzzy startup Devoted Health
used to hit a $1.8 billion valuation before it signed up any customers




23ANDME - $2.5 BILLION


23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki. Kimberly White / Getty Images

In 2018, 23andMe, a company best known for its genetics tests designed to tell
you information as varied as the amount of Neanderthal DNA you have and your
health risks, gained a higher valuation after striking a $300 million deal with
drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.

The company, founded in 2006, has millions of customers and a number of
partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies. With GSK, 23andMe has a
4-year-long development deal to use the data 23andMe has collected to discover
and develop new medications. Using 23andMe's data, GSK is also working on an
experimental drug to treat Parkinson's disease in patients with a particular
mutation. 

But the consumer genetics market has been facing a big slowdown this year,
leading the company to lay off 100 employees. Its rival, Ancestry, also laid off
roughly 100 employees. In the wake of the pandemic, 23andMe has been studying
genetic associations to find links between genetics and the severity of
COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. 

To date, 23andMe has raised $792 million. 

Read more: The DNA testing industry is stuck in a rut. Here's how 23andMe and
Ancestry are plotting their next moves.




OSCAR HEALTH - $3.2 BILLION


Oscar Health CEO Mario Schlosser. Photo by Amber De Vos/Patrick McMullan via
Getty Images

New York-based health insurer Oscar Health sells insurance in the individual
exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act and to small businesses. Going into
2020, Oscar had enrolled 420,000 people, a 63% increase from the start of 2019.

It entered a new market in 2020, offering private Medicare Advantage plans to
seniors.

Read more: Buzzy health startup Oscar is making a big bet on a crucial change to
how you get your healthcare. The CEO shared how he thinks that will happen.

Oscar has raised nearly $1.5 billion from investors enticed by its promise of a
new tech-driven approach to health insurance. The company most recently raised
$225 million in June from investors including Alphabet, General Catalyst, Khosla
Ventures, Baillie Gifford, and Coatue.

As of March 2018 — prior to two more recent rounds of funding — PitchBook valued
the company at $3.2 billion. 

In September, Axios reported Oscar has hired on bankers ahead of a 2021 initial
public offering. An Oscar spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. 

Read more: We just got a look at the latest financials for health startups like
Bright and Oscar. They reveal the challenges facing the insurers as they keep
growing their footprints.




VILLAGEMD- $3.3 BILLION


Walgreens is adding VillageMD doctor's offices to its pharmacy locations.
VillageMD

Chicago-based VillageMD was founded in 2013 with the idea of giving primary care
doctors more resources to help them manage the care of their patients. 

Rather than get paid based on the number of visits doctors have with patients,
VillageMD works with insurers so that it gets paid based on how well it cares
for patients, adding in monitoring services, transportation, and other ways to
keep patients healthier.

In July, VillageMD said it will open 500 to 700 primary-care clinics in
partnership with Walgreens. As part of the deal, Walgreens made an initial $250
million equity investment in VillageMD and plans to invest $1 billion in total
over the next three years in equity and convertible debt. That'll give Walgreens
a 30% stake in the company by the end of the investment and values VillageMD at
at least $3.3 billion. 

Prior to Walgreens' investment, VillageMD had raised $216 million from investors
including Kinnevik and Oak HC/FT. Kinnevik invested an additional $25 million in
July as part of the Walgreens investment, bringing the total raised by VillageMD
to $491 million.

Read more: Walgreens just made a $1 billion bet on bringing doctor's offices
into its pharmacies, and it shows how the pharmacy giant is taking on CVS and
Walmart as they beef up their health ambitions




CLOVER HEALTH - $3.7 BILLION


Clover Health CEO Vivek Garipalli. Courtesy Clover Health

Clover Health sells Medicare Advantage health-insurance plans. When people in
the US turn 65, they can choose to be part of traditional Medicare or Medicare
Advantage, which is operated through private insurers like Clover and often
provides additional healthcare benefits. The hope for Clover and other
technology-based health insurers is to use data to improve patients' health.

On October 6, Clover Health announced that it will go public from a merger with
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings, a blank-check holding company founded by
former venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. The reverse merger values Clover
Health at roughly $3.7 billion.

Clover lost $67.4 million in 2019, according to state insurance filings reviewed
by Business Insider. That compares to a $40.9 million loss in 2018. 

The health insurance startup Clover Health had a net gain of $34.7 million
through the second quarter of 2020 as medical expenses significantly dropped in
the wake of the pandemic.

Clover is growing its membership, adding roughly 10,000 new members in 2019, and
enrolling an additional 12,000 going into 2020. By the end of the first six
months of 2020, Clover had 56,816 members. 

In total, the company has raised to $925 million from private investors.

Read more: Bright Health just raised $500 million and Oscar Health is reportedly
eyeing an IPO. Here's a look at how the hot health insurance startups have fared
this year.




BRIGHT HEALTH - $4 BILLION


Bright Health CEO Mike Mikan Courtesy Bright Health

Bright Health provides health plans for people under the Affordable Care Act and
to seniors in Medicare Advantage.

It was founded in 2016 and has raised more than $1.5 billion after closing a
$500 million round in September. A representative for the company declined to
provide its updated valuation, though according to Pitchbook, the valuation is
$4 billion.

Minneapolis-based Bright Health posted a net loss of $41.8 million for 2019, a
deeper net loss than the $17.5 million loss the company had in 2018. The company
made $208.5 million in revenue and recorded $176 million in medical claims,
spending about 84% of the premiums it took in on medical expenses.

In total, Bright had nearly 59,000 members by the end of 2019, the majority of
which were on plans bought in the ACA's individual markets. Today it operates in
13 states and covers more than 200,000 members. 

Bright in January announced plans to acquire Brand New Day, a health plan that
gave it a big foothold in the Medicare Advantage market. The terms of the deal
were not disclosed, and the acquisition officially closed on May 1. 

Read more: $2.2 billion Bright Health just struck a deal to buy a health plan
and gain a big foothold in the lucrative Medicare Advantage market




GINKGO - $4 BILLION


Jason Kelly, the cofounder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. Reuters

Ginkgo Bioworks is a startup that designs microbes to produce substances like
fragrances and medications. The Boston-based company sends the programmed bugs
to partner companies that put them to use.

In September 2019, Ginkgo raised an additional $290 million. In total, the
company has raised $719 million and a $350 million fund to invest in spinout
companies that use its technology. 




INTARCIA THERAPEUTICS — $4.1 BILLION


Intarcia CEO Kurt Graves. CNBC

Intarcia Therapeutics, a Gates Foundation-backed biotech, is developing
implantable devices intended to treat conditions like Type 2 diabetes and
prevent HIV.

In September 2018, the FDA put the Boston-based company's plans for its diabetes
implant on hold, citing manufacturing concerns. The company resubmitted the
implant, but it was again rejected in March 2020. 

In March 2019, the company raised $73 million of convertible debt funding from
undisclosed investors. To date, the company's raised more than $2 billion, per
PitchBook data. 




TEMPUS — $5 BILLION


Eric Lefkofsky, the CEO of Tempus. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Chicago-based Tempus got its start in 2015, and then rocketed into unicorn
territory.

The startup, which was founded by Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky, hopes to help
doctors use data to find better cancer treatments for patients, using both
clinical data — information about which medications patients have taken and how
they responded to them — and data it sequences in its lab based on the tumors
and hereditary genetics of cancer patients.

Tempus raised $200 million in Series F venture funding from Novo Holdings,
Revolution Group, and New Enterprise Associates in May 2019 and raised an
additional $100 million in March 2020. So far, the company has raised a total of
$620 million. 

 




ROIVANT - $7 BILLION


Axovant CEO Vivek Ramaswamy. Lisa Lake/Getty

Roivant Sciences is a company known for developing drugs that other
pharmaceutical companies have abandoned.

The company was founded by CEO Vivek Ramaswamy, who's 35. Through its subsidiary
companies, it identifies experimental drugs that other companies may have
stopped developing for one reason or another that still have potential to get
approved and go on the market.

So far, it has launched 17 subsidiary "-vant" companies, including a number that
have gone public. Those include the neurodegenerative-disease-drug developer
Axovant Sciences, the women's health company Myovant Sciences, and the urology
company Urovant Sciences.

In December, the company entered a deal with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Before
that, the company had raised $200 million from investors a little more than a
year after raising $1.1 billion in a monster round led by SoftBank's Vision
Fund. The $200 million round valued the company at $7 billion. 

 




GRAIL - $8 BILLION


Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Grail, which was spun out of the genetic-testing firm Illumina in 2016, is
headed home.

On September 21, Illumina said it would acquire Grail in an $8 billion deal.
Grail is working on cancer-screening tests that could spot tiny bits of cancer
DNA that are hanging out in our blood but are currently undetectable.

If companies like Grail are successful, they would be the first to pull off a
cancer-detecting blood test that works proactively.

Since it got its start in 2016, Grail has raised almost $2 billion from the
likes of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, along with big names from the
pharmaceutical, tech, and healthcare industries, including Johnson & Johnson
Innovation, Arch Venture Partners, Amazon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, and
Merck.

The concept behind Grail is similar to liquid biopsy tests, which use blood
samples to sequence genetic information in that blood to figure out how tumors
are responding to a certain cancer therapy. In 2017, Grail acquired Cirina, a
Hong Kong company that is also looking at early cancer detection.

Illumina said that Grail plans to launch its test, called Galleri, next year.




SAMUMED - $12.4 BILLION


Samumed CEO Osman Kibar, CFO Cevdet Samikoglu, and chief medical officer Yusuf
Yazici. Diana Yukari/Business Insider; photos courtesy Samumed

Samumed is the highest-valued startup on this list.

The San Diego-based company has attracted a total of $764 million and a heady
valuation thanks to a pipeline of what could be revolutionary treatments to
regenerate hair, skin, bones, and joints.

The company's science hinges on something called progenitor stem cells. Samumed
hopes to manipulate the pathway that makes these progenitor stem cells spring
into action so that they don't cause conditions like hair loss or
osteoarthritis. 

The company had previously raised funding from backers including high-net worth
people and sovereign funds rather than venture capital. Samumed's chief business
officer, Erich Horsley, said in May 2018 that the company could go public in the
next three to four years.

Read more: Samumed, a $12 billion startup that wants to cure baldness and smooth
out your wrinkles, just released promising data on its lead drug to treat
osteoarthritis


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