Bertelsmann Investments is investing in Ada Health, a digital health pioneer founded in Berlin in 2016. The Ada app lets users quickly and easily make an initial medical assessment based on their symptoms. Together with two other investors, BI is now providing US$30 million for the company’s further business expansion, primarily in the U.S.
In 2016, an entrepreneur, a neuroscientist and a doctor founded the start-up Ada Health in Berlin-Kreuzberg with the aim of harnessing artificial intelligence for the early diagnosis of diseases by patients themselves. As a pioneer in the field of digital health, Ada Health developed a medical platform and an app, which is now available in seven languages. People can use the app to quickly and easily make an initial medical assessment based on their symptoms – and they have already done so millions of times. Now, Bertelsmann Investments (BI) is joining other investors to invest in the successful company. In an extension to a Series B round of financing that already raised $90 million for Ada Health in May 2021, BI, Farallon Capital, and Red River West are together providing another $30 million, to be used for expanding the company’s business. Ada Health is one of BI’s first investments in the digital health sector.
According to Ada Health, the fresh capital will be used to accelerate the rapid growth of Ada’s enterprise offering and strengthen its presence, especially in the United States. This follows a period of strong growth in North America, where Ada has forged collaborations with leading health systems and care providers, while continuing existing client partnerships internationally with the likes of Bayer, Novartis, and Sutter Health. The company reports that since the global launch of the Ada app in 2016, it has been used to complete 26 million assessments and earned 300,000 five-star ratings. Ada Health also provides enterprise solutions to a wide range of partners across health systems, insurers, and life sciences. By integrating its symptom assessment and care navigation tools into a range of digital care journeys, Ada can improve outcomes for patients, consumers, and healthcare providers.
Ada Health CEO and co-founder Daniel Nathrath said: “As a company, our goal is to improve healthcare outcomes for more than 1 billion people around the world. Covid-19 has highlighted the need for greater, faster change within healthcare and we are seeing a growing demand from health systems, insurers, and life sciences organizations for innovative ways to help transform health journeys and drive better outcomes for patients, clinicians and providers.” He says the new financing will enable Ada to double down on growth in the U.S. and other key geographies, while continuing to develop its suite of AI-powered solutions. Jörn Caumanns, CFO of Bertelsmann Investments, says: “We are very excited to partner with Ada as one of the leading European players in digital health. We are impressed with the quality of its best-in-class health assessment and care navigation platform and its future growth options. Digital health is a sector that we intend to expand, and Ada is one of BI’s first investments in this space.”
