Home healthcare tech platform Birdie has raised £25 million in Series B funding as it aims to radically improve the lives of millions of elderly people.
The round, which will be used to accelerate the company’s growth in the UK and further its impact in the European market, was led by investment firm Sofina, with OMERS Ventures and follow-on investment from Index Ventures.
The news comes as home care reaches crisis point, with half a million waiting for help in England and carers leaving en masse due to loss of pay.
Co-founded in 2017 by Max Parmentier, the B-Corp certified company is on a mission to reinvent home healthcare and empower older generations to age confidently in their own homes. It offers an all-in-one software solution that supports all areas of home care, removing many of the administrative and regulatory burdens placed on care professionals.
Helen, a care professional at Alina Homecare, said: “Previously, we were writing long paragraphs and updates, but now it just takes five minutes to complete each visit note on the app. If there is a concern that can’t be actioned during the visit, the office will follow up on the client’s needs right away.
“The best part is that throughout all of this, family members have peace of mind that their loved one is being looked after, as they can track the care being received through the family app.”
In the last year alone, demand for Birdie’s suite of products has increased by three times as care providers came under enormous pressure to run an efficient care operation with staffing constraints. The solution helps manage the entire care process; from scheduling visits, creating care plans, preparing audit reports and invoicing to full-service care management, enabling professionals to deliver care safely and efficiently and decreasing time spent on non-critical admin.
CEO Parmentier said: “Our vision has always been to create a world where everyone can age with confidence at home. In five years, we have become the operating system for care providers, building the largest home healthcare dataset for the elderly in Europe.
“With millions of clinical data points collected each month, we plan on deriving personalised and predictive insights to enable a value-based healthcare delivery model. This latest investment, just over one year from the last round, is not only a validation of Birdie’s growth trajectory, but also an endorsement for the potential of our social impact.”
With a 91% increase in the number of people waiting to receive care across the UK, Birdie is fundamentally transforming the care system, helping care communities identify early points of intervention.
Harold Boël, CEO of Sofina, said: “The home healthcare tech sector seems ripe for an innovative leader like Birdie to catalyse the necessary social change. Aligned with our strategy to back growing and sustainable businesses, we’re excited to join them on their mission to enrich the lives of millions of older adults through preventive and personalised care at home.”