Speedoc, the Singapore-based online and offline health provider, announced Tuesday it has closed its $28 million pre-series B funding round.
The round includes new investors including Bertelsmann Investments, Shinhan Venture investment and Mars Growth, Speedoc said in a statement.
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, which led Speedoc’s $5 million Series A funding round in 2020, also participated in the funding round.
According to the statement, funds raised in this round will be channeled towards Speedoc’s efforts to make virtual hospitals a reality across the Southeast Asia region.
As countries in the region look for ways to manage an ageing population while the healthcare manpower crunch remains a pressing concern, Speedoc said pilot trials have shown that the home-based, virtual hospital care model, at the centre of its business, is effective, with patient recovery duration similar or reduced as compared to those who were admitted into hospitals.
Speedoc is currently working with hospital partners such as the National University Health System (NUHS), the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KPTH) in a two-year pilot trial for virtual ward services, as part of the Ministry of Health (MOH) Office for Healthcare Transformation’s (MOHT) Mobile Inpatient Care@Home (MIC@Home) initiative.
The firm will also look to expand its H-Ward® virtual hospital programme, an integrated platform monitored by a dedicated 24/7 patient-care team that standardizes and combines different services needed for hospital care at home.
Speedoc Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Shravan Verma said the healthcare challenges which have erupted all over the world in the last couple of years demonstrates an urgency to transform healthcare delivery for all.
“That’s why my Co-Founder, Serene Cai, and I created Speedoc to push the boundaries of healthcare beyond current times and ensure that access to quality medical care is convenient, safe, and easy,
“We are thrilled to welcome the support and partnership of existing and new investors who share our goal of transforming the healthcare landscape with technology,” he said.
“With this investment, we look forward to expanding our collaborations with private and public healthcare players to bring hospital-level care into every home and for every person,
“This would further empower patients and caregivers by providing them with an alternative to recover at home whilst providing them with effective cost-savings. The thrust towards virtual hospitals will complement and ensure better hospital utilisation rates, enabling medical personnel to attend to life-threatening conditions in a more efficient manner,” he added.
Speedoc was founded in 2017 with a vision to give people control of their healthcare needs by making hospital-level care accessible to every person via tech-enabled and innovative services and solutions.
The firm leverages its expertise in technology, innovation and decentralized medical care to provide a wide range of mobile medical services spanning telehealth consultations, on-site doctor and nurse visits, virtual hospital wards, and ambulance hailing services.
Its platform is now available in nine cities across Singapore and Malaysia and serves patients and caregivers across both countries.
Speedoc was also a key partner of the Singapore government during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to support Home Recovery Programmes (HRP) and Home Vaccination Teams, particularly for the elderly segment.
“Healthcare provision and delivery in Southeast Asia is poised for tremendous change in the next decade. We believe the healthcare model Speedoc champions will see greater adoption in meeting the healthcare gap in the region,
“As one of Speedoc’s strategic partners, Shinhan Venture Investment is excited to continue partnering with Dr Shravan and his team to make a big impact in the delivery of convenient, universal and quality healthcare services,” said Jinsoo Lee, Director at Shinhan Venture Investment (Global Investment).