Seattle-based 98point6 announced that it is licensing its virtual care delivery platform in a deal with Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System. This is the company’s first foray as a third-party software provider, and it raised more than $20 million in a convertible note offering to fund its expansion.
The licensed tech will be used to support Indigo Health, a division of MultiCare Health System that handles urgent care for minor illnesses and injuries. Indigo was founded in 2015 and has grown to 35 urgent care clinics across Washington, alongside a virtual care component. MultiCare is the largest health system in Washington state.
“The health care landscape is changing quickly, with big players in the technology and healthcare sectors making significant investments in this direction,” Indigo Health president Ryan Fix said in a statement.
The move by 98point6 comes at a time when tech companies are making a push into healthcare. Amazon is set to acquire publicly traded primary care company One Medical for $3.9 billion and is also reportedly bidding on in-home technology provider Signify Health. Oracle recently acquired health IT company Cerner in a deal valued at $28 billion.
Founded in 2015, 98point6 launched to make connecting with a physician as “simple as sending a text or doing an online search.” Its subscriber base got a boon from the pandemic, nearly tripling in size. However, it cut 10% of its staff in July.
A recent analysis from Trilliant Health shows that telehealth demand declined nearly 60% from April 2020 to April 2022, “suggesting that expanded availability of virtual care options has not shifted widespread consumer preferences.”
98point6 is led by Jeff Greenstein, who became the company’s permanent CEO after taking over interim leadership duties following the departure of former CEO and co-founder Robbie Cape in August 2021.
98point6 now has more than 300 full-time employees and ranks 28th on the Startup 200, our list of the top tech startups in the Pacific Northwest.
The funding comes from private equity giant L Catterton and late-stage investment firm Activant Capital, both of which led 98point6’s Series E round when it raised more than $118 million in October 2020. The company did not reveal its valuation.