Ayu Health, a San Francisco-based healthcare startup, today announced that it has raised $27 million in Series B funding.
Ayu was founded by Dr. Wei Li, Dr. Alex Dzania and Dr. Stan Chopek in 2015. The company offers a mobile platform that provides a combination of direct peer support, community knowledge and medical advice to patients that have cancer, their caregivers and loved ones. The startup said the new capital will be used to further develop the platform.
Dr. Li, co-founder and CEO of Ayu Health, said, "Our investors realize the vastness of the unmet requirements within the cancer support community." "We're working hard to handle this issue head-on, and we appreciate their help."
Since its launch, Ayu Health has raised a total of $32.5 million in venture funding. Its previous investors include Khosla Ventures, Social Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, Founder Collective, and SV Angel.
Other healthcare startups, such as Flatiron Health and Sutter Health, have attempted to offer similar solutions but have found it challenging to expand beyond a limited population or healthcare setting.
"In the United States alone, there are more than 8 million cancer survivors, and most of the healthcare data available to them is limited," said Tobie Stanger, a partner at Fundamentum.
Nirav Tolia, a partner at Social Capital, echoed Stanger's enthusiasm.
During its last funding round, Fundamentum helped Ayu Health expand its presence to more than 600 hospitals and cancer clinics in 20 countries across the U.S. and abroad. This time around, Fundamentum will help Ayu Health build on that footprint, grow its business to a new patient population and explore new solutions for the cancer support community.
Intuit, a prominent technology company, also participated in the round.
"We are proud to invest in Ayu Health to help address the unmet needs in the cancer support community," said Jason Johnson, CEO of Intuit Inc.
This new funding comes shortly after a large spike in the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum, two major cryptocurrencies. While these assets don't have direct ties to Ayu, the company is taking precautions to ensure that it won't be affected by the cryptocurrency boom.
In a blog post, the company explained that it has been constantly adding new security and scalability features, including GDPR and SafeSearch, that will ensure Ayu remains compliant as the digital economy evolves.
"The increasing support that we've seen in recent months is clear evidence that Ayu's story of connecting people and empowering them is resonating with people globally," said Chopek, co-founder and chief medical officer at Ayu Health."At Ayu, we're motivated by the same ambition to provide the greatest possible service to people, regardless of their financial means, geography, or life situation."
There are more than a billion people living with cancer globally, according to Ayu Health. At present, people in the U.S. alone spend more than $100 billion annually on non-communicable diseases, which includes cancer. Ayu is hoping to help change that.
"More and more people are turning to the Internet for support and understanding of their disease," Chopek added.
In addition to advancing Ayu's platform, Fundamentum has launched a digital platform that gives cancer patients access to community and healthcare professionals to help them navigate their healthcare journey.
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