While many people continue to avoid crowds and limit their trips outside of home during a pandemic whose end still isn’t in sight, telehealth services are quickly becoming more than just a convenience. Telemedicine has found its foothold as the new normal even outside the tech-savvy crowd, with users spanning generations and demographics.
San Francisco-based Lemonaid Health, which began in 2013 as a direct-to-consumer primary care platform, has enjoyed its fair share of the telehealth boom. Recently, they raised $33 million in an oversubscribed Series B round of funding. The round was led by Olive Tree Ventures, and also included participation from Artis Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Hikam Ventures, and Sierra Ventures. Added to 2017’s $11 million Series A round, Lemonaid’s total financing to date sits at $55 million.
Lemonaid will use the capital to jumpstart rapid expansion, hoping to increase their customer base from 1 million users to 10 million over the course of the next few years. What began as a 10-state operation now offers services across the nation. Legislation is still trying to keep pace with the abundance of new healthcare technologies, and in some cases, regulations still vary widely from state to state. Patient privacy influences those decisions, with some states allowing video-based virtual visits, while others are only comfortable offering phone calls and secured messages.
The company offers an online doctor’s office and medicine delivery system for everything from common infections to hair loss to smoking cessation. Soon, they will even offer an at-home COVID-19 testing kit. According to Alejandro Weinstein, general partner of Olive Tree Ventures, Lemonaid removes some of the burden on a stressed healthcare system with their easy-access treatment options.
“By connecting directly with patients in need and seamlessly providing consultative services and treatments, [they] are taking a cutting-edge approach to addressing the backlog of need in today’s health care environment,” he noted in a written statement. “We are excited to partner with Lemonaid Health to realize the full potential of technology in re-envisioning the future of health care.”
Lemonaid currently employs 75 doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and support workers on their team, with plans to expand that group to 250 by 2022.
