Papa, a startup seeking to beat back loneliness by pairing seniors with companions, is now valued at $1.4 million.
The Miami-based startup hires “Papa buddies,” who may also help with non-medical duties, similar to meal prep and transportation, or simply verify in on members of the family. It just lately closed a $150 million funding spherical, led by Softbank’s second Imaginative and prescient Fund.
“Loneliness amongst older adults is among the largest public well being challenges and creates a crushing human and financial price,” Lydia Jett, a associate at SoftBank Funding Advisers and a director at Papa, stated in a information launch. “Towards a backdrop of well being care supplier shortages and an ever rising understanding of social wants as well being wants, Papa is utilizing expertise to create a brand new care drive to supply companionship and help to those that want it most.”
CEO Andrew Parker based the corporate in 2017, whereas taking good care of his grandfather. The thought was to supply further help for households and caregivers, however completely different than the work offered by dwelling care professionals.
Whereas skilled caregivers is perhaps tasked with serving to somebody with a large spectrum of duties, similar to mobility, hygiene and incontinence, Papa’s “buddies” are extra centered on different features of each day dwelling, similar to tech help, meal prep, house responsibilities and transportation.
“It’s one other means to supply a community of care within the type of companionship and to alleviate an already strained system whereas concurrently serving to older adults and households as they age,” Parker stated.
The corporate gives its providers as a coated profit by way of folks’s employer or insurance coverage, slightly than as a consumer-facing service. To date, the corporate has struck partnerships with greater than 65 well being plans, together with Aetna, Humana and Florida Blue. It added 25 well being plans within the final seven months.
Papa has probably the most traction with Medicare Benefit plans, however it additionally works with employer-sponsored plans, the place households is perhaps caring for youngsters and growing old mother and father concurrently, and Medicaid plans.
Parker stated he plans to make use of the funds to proceed to construct on Papa’s product, its potential to seize information, and to develop into extra well being plans.
As seniors face a scarcity of caregivers, buyers are additionally pouring funds into corporations that use software program to make caregivers simpler to seek out. For instance, on-line caregiver market CareLinx was acquired earlier this yr for $65 million, and Honor, an organization that makes software program for dwelling care businesses, raised $370 million in fairness and debt.
Photograph credit score: jacoblund, Getty Photographs