Papa Named to the 2021 CB Insights Digital Health 150, List of Most Innovative Digital Health Startups

MIAMI, Dec. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CB Insights named Papa to its third annual Digital Health 150, which showcases the 150 most promising private digital health companies in the world. Papa is a curated platform of companionship and support for older adults, families, and other vulnerable populations.  

The 2021 Digital Health 150 cohort has raised roughly $14.9B in aggregate funding across 522 deals since 2016, and includes startups at various investment stages of development, from early-stage ventures to well-funded unicorns. Companies this year include startups working on data integration and analytics, hybrid (virtual/in-person) care, digital therapeutics, clinical intelligence, and more.

"This year's Digital Health 150 is one of our most expansive yet, spotlighting 16 categories including virtual care, clinical trials tech, and workflow automation, as well as adding new categories such as home health tech and computer-aided imaging," said Brian Lee, SVP of CB Insights' Intelligence Unit. "Last year's class has seen more than 20 exits, raised an additional $18.6B in aggregate funding, and announced over 250 partnerships since being recognized, and we're excited to see the future success of this year's winners."

"We are honored that Papa is included in the Digital Health 150," added Andrew Parker, founder and CEO of Papa. "The designation recognizes our build of a new category of care, centered on companionship,  that supports older adults, families and others —  reducing loneliness and improving health. As we look ahead to the future, our hope is that everyone who needs a Papa Pal is afforded that opportunity."

Through an evidence-based approach, the CB Insights research team selected the Digital Health 150 from a pool of over 11,000 companies, including applicants and nominees. They were chosen based on several factors, including data submitted by the companies, company business models and momentum in the market, and Mosaic scores, as generated by CB Insights' proprietary algorithm that measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies.

By using technology to match older adults and other appropriate health plan members with vetted and trained companions, called "Papa Pals," Papa meets needs that promote one's health, but are non-medical in nature — ranging from technology assistance, meal preparation, light housework, transportation, and, of course, social interaction.

Over the past year, Papa has grown membership by 333% and is now partnering with more than 65 Medicare, Medicaid, and employer health plans. This growth comes amid significant investment from health plans to address members' social determinants of health (SDoH), including social isolation and loneliness, that are shown to have a direct link to negative health outcomes. In one study of chronically ill and lonely members conducted over a 6-month intervention period, 69% reported improvement in loneliness, many with significant improvement. Papa participants also had a reduction in the number of days they felt physically unhealthy by 4.5 days and mentally unhealthy by four.1  

2021 Digital Health 150 Investment Highlights:

• Unicorns: 17 of the 150 companies (11%) are valued at or above $1B as of their latest funding rounds.
• Funding trends: In 2021 year-to-date (YTD), these 150 private companies have raised $9.2B in equity funding across 153 deals (as of 11/19/21).
• Mega-rounds: Since 2020, there have been 39 mega-round ($100M+) equity investments to this year's Digital Health 150, with 31 (79%) of them taking place in 2021 YTD.
• Global representation: 23% of the 2021 Digital Health 150 are based outside the US. After the US, the UK is home to the most Digital Health 150 companies (9), followed by India (4). This year's winners are based in 18 countries, including China, Israel, Nigeria, Germany, Argentina, and New Zealand.
• Top VC investor: General Catalyst is the most active investor in this year's Digital Health 150 companies, having invested in 39 deals since 2016.

This recognition comes on the heels of two other Papa accolades announced this week. The first, from Crunchbase, featured the 30 Black and Latinx-founded U.S. companies that raised the most funding during 2021. Additionally, Rock Health recognized Papa's impact as a Top 50 in Digital Health: Equity Advocates award winner.

About Papa
Papa and its Papa Pals platform provide "family on demand," by working with Medicare, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored health plans to provide a companionship and care benefit for older adults and families. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Miami, Papa is backed by Canaan, Tiger Global Management, Comcast Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, TCG, Initialized Capital, and Seven Seven Six, among other revered institutional and individual investors. For more information, visit papa.com.

About CB Insights
CB Insights builds software that enables the world's best companies to discover, understand, and make technology decisions with confidence. By marrying data, expert insights, and work management tools, clients manage their end-to-end technology decision-making process on CB Insights. To learn more, please visit www.cbinsights.com.

Papa media contact:
[email protected]

CB Insights media contact:
[email protected]

1 Social connections with Papa pals and older adults improved loneliness scores over 6 months, Academy Health Annual Research Meeting 2021

SOURCE Papa Inc.