Wheel, an Austin, Texas-based startup working to improve virtual care infrastructure, has raised $150 million in a recent round of funding, bringing its total investment cache to $216 million. This puts Wheel much closer to fulfilling its goal of helping more companies offer patients virtual-first care. The round was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tiger Global, with participation from newcomers Coatue and Salesforce Ventures as well as existing investors Tusk Venture Partners, CRV, and Silverton Partners.
Wheel's white-label virtual care platform powers operations for other digital health startups, brick and mortar clinics, retailers, and pharmacies seeking the convenience of an outsourced virtual care service. Wheel CEO and co-founder Michelle Davey said, “The idea behind virtual-first care is to have patients start their care journey with a digital interaction. By leaning on technology, healthcare organizations can more easily triage the patient’s care need and determine the best care setting.”
Allocation of the funding raised in the Series C will mainly cover further honing of Wheel's platform and white-labeled diagnostics services. Diagnostic companies and labs will greatly benefit from the addition of direct-to-consumer lab testing, follow-up care, and other Wheel-provided services to their day-to-day functionalities. In terms of other plans for the money, CEO Davey indicated a desire to double Wheel's workforce of 150 employees by the end of the year while also expanding its clinician network.
