Digital healthcare startup Capsule announced this week it raised $300 million in fresh funding. The round was led by Durable Capital Partners, with participation from new investors Baillie Gifford, T Rowe Price and Whale Rock.
This latest funding, plus the $200 million Capsule raised in 2019, brings the six-year-old company’s total capital raised to more than half a billion dollars. Founder and CEO Eric Kinariwala also told Bloomberg that it values the company at more than $1 billion.
Prescription drugs are a $465 billion industry, attracting the attention of small startups and big corporations alike. Late last year, e-commerce giant Amazon launched its own online pharmacy, and legacy companies like CVS and Walmart have recently begun offering prescription delivery services. Meanwhile, buzzy new startups like Medly Pharmacy and Ro have garnered massive investments from heavy hitters like Greycroft and General Catalyst for their own takes on medication delivery and telehealth.
Capsule claims to be one of the only companies of its kind to offer the whole package, serving as a “one-stop shop” for consumers. All users have to do is send over their prescription and the company says it will handle transferring refills to one of its own pharmacies. From there, the company says it will deliver prescriptions as soon as the next day, and coordinate refills going forward. Capsule also has ways for users to speak directly with its team of pharmacists for any questions.
The company also works with third parties to help ensure patients get the treatment they need. For example, it partners with mental-health company Ginger to fill their patients’ prescriptions. The goal, says Kinariwala, is to help consumers address all their health needs in a “single, holistic place.”
“We’re doing that in a way that brings everybody in healthcare together versus trying to own all of those things ourselves,” Kinariwala said in a statement provided to Built In. “Just like you buy an iPhone and choose apps, people will be able to access Capsule’s digital pharmacy as well as a best-in-class curated set of products and services to meet all their healthcare needs from within a single app.”
Capsule currently serves several markets including NYC, Austin, Chicago, Boston, LA and Minneapolis, and plans to use this fresh funding to continue its national expansion with the goal of reaching 100 million Americans by the end of this year. The company will also use the money to further invest in its technology and form more industry partnerships.
