Air Doctor raises US$20mn for startup medical app
Air Doctor, a startup that connects travellers with local doctors, has secured US$20mn in funding to help it grow and bring on board new partners within the insurance industry.
The Air Doctor platform connects travellers who fall ill abroad with local private doctors through a mobile app. Its outpatient medical network covers 74 countries and includes over 20,000 medical professionals who provide either in-person or remote consultations.
The latest capital raise, its second round of investment since it was founded in 2018, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners alongside further funding from Vintage Investment Partners and Munich Re Ventures.
A startup with ‘almost no competition’
Air Doctor says the money will allow it to “enter its next phase of growth”, hiring more developers to incorporate additional product customisation into the app and opening more offices around the world. The company also has plans to expand its network of vetted medical professionals, particularly in the US and Europe.
“As the world emerges from Covid-19, people have resumed travel, with a greater demand for suitable travel insurance and digital solutions,” says Air Doctor CEO Jenny Cohen Derfler. “The pandemic has forced the industry to reassess local medical treatment available for travellers. Today, travellers testing positive for the coronavirus will be able to seek medical care in the local communities they are in rather than in hospitals.
“Air Doctor has become one of the fastest-growing startups, with tens of thousands of registered users and many more accessing the network worldwide. Today the company offers a unique and distinctive digital product with almost no competition.”
Efrat Sagi-Ofir, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer for the company, adds: “Building our partner and investor network will be an ongoing endeavour, as well as boosting our R&D capabilities and end-user activation. We’re also on the lookout to find new team members who are keen to join an exciting startup that is expanding globally.”
Travel sector could recover fully by 2024
A survey published earlier this year by the World Economic Forum suggests that the global travel sector could recover fully by 2024. Additionally, some countries may mandate travel insurance coverage for visitors – two factors that Air Doctor says will “create a dramatic surge” in the need for better travel insurance.
Yoni Cheifetz, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, adds: “Air Doctor addresses a major pain point for the health and travel insurance industry, and Lightspeed is excited to lead the company’s new US$20mn funding round. Air Doctor continues to prove itself as an innovator in travel health by digitising a significant aspect of the travel experience.”
Recently, Air Doctor has been offering free online consultations and prescriptions to residents of Ukraine through a partnership with World Travel Protection and Cover-More Group. The charitable initiative is a direct response to the need for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion of the country.
