Leading home-health platform Birdie aims to empower more personalised care for the elderly in the comfort of their own homes. The startup has just raised an additional €28.4 million in Series B funding to push forward the vision.
Amidst a crisis in the home care sector, UK-based startup Birdie is attempting to alleviate the burden on care professionals whilst also giving elderly people the access to care and support they need from the comfort of their own homes. It’s a much-needed endeavour that is having a positive impact on the lvies of both the older generation and carers alike. To illustrate this further – the news just as it has been reported that in England alone, about half a million people are waiting for help as careers are leaving the role en masse due to pay losses.
The startup has just secured an additional €24.8 million in its mission to reinvent home health care through tech, with Sofina leading the round alongside OMERS Ventures and follow-on investment coming from Index Ventures.
Founded in 2017, Birdie operates on the ethos that the elder generation should have vibrant and happy lives as they age in the comfort of their own home. Not only is this undoubtedly better for their mental health, but it also decreases the strain on families and an already frazzled hospital care system.
On the investment, Max Parmentier, co-founder and CEO of Birdie, 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.”
The healthtech solution comprises an all-in-one platform that supports millions of care visits every month. It equips care providers with the tools they need to deliver better quality care and improve efficiency across most day-to-day operations. From scheduling visits, creating care plans, preparing audit reports and invoicing to full-service care management, the platform enables professionals to deliver care safely and efficiently. It further decreases the time spent on non-critical admin and relieves stressed-out workers of labour some paperwork.
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. In the last year alone, the startup reports a 200% increase in demand as care providers came under enormous pressure to run an efficient care operation with staffing constraints.
Helen, a care professional at Alina Homecare, said: “Previously, we were writing long paragraphs and updates, but now it just takes 5 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.”
The SaaS solution operates with the principle of collaboration and also facilitates information sharing with both health practitioners and care communities for delivering personalised, preventative care at home. Currently, the startup is working with over 700 care businesses, including Alina Homecare, Medacs Healthcare and Care at Home Group.
The platform supports 35,000 care recipients and 8,000 family members who now have access to vital information about their loved ones. This funding will mean that even more care recipients and family members can have more peace of mind bout the care they will get. It means that care workers can get back to doing what they’re really passionate about – providing care and support. This new funding will be used to support international expansion, impacting millions of lives.
Harold Boël, CEO of Sofina, commented: “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.”
Stéphane Kurgan, Venture Partner of Index Ventures, added: “What really sets Birdie apart is the combination of an intuitive product experience coupled with a true partnership approach to digital transformation. We continue to be impressed by the team’s passion, calibre and commitment to social change and are proud to accompany them on their quest to reinvent care for the better.”
