At-home virtual care provider Kivo Health raised $10 million in Series A funding, bringing its overall financing to $16 million to fuel national expansion.
Allumia Ventures led the round, with additional support from Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures.
Seattle-based Kivo provides AI-powered virtual home care for chronic lung diseases, starting with treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Kivo aims to help older adults receive earlier intervention and to manage COPD between clinical visits, thus improving quality of life and avoiding hospitalization, according to a the company.
“We have delivered tens of thousands of sessions, providing thousands of patients access to care that improves symptoms and saves health plans money by reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, ER visits and nursing home days,” Kivo Health co-founder and CEO Victor Sadauskas told Home Health Care News in an email. “We plan to expand nationwide to deliver care to tens of thousands of patients in the next two years.”
Kivo combines healthcare technology designed to be used in the home with individual treatment plans. After enrolling, an individual receives a kit for COPD management, including a tablet, oxygen monitor and exercise bands. The individual virtually meets with a respiratory therapist to assess breathing symptoms and devise a personalized plan.
Patients, in small groups, then virtually meet with their respiratory therapists twice a week for nine weeks to learn breathing techniques, perform targeted exercises and access resources on managing COPD, according to Kivo’s website.
The company claims to reduce total healthcare spending by $8,245 per member per year by mitigating hospitalizations, emergency room visits and nursing home days.
Beyond nationwide expansion, Kivo intends to expand its care model to other high-cost chronic illnesses. Its program is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Blue Cross, Aetna, Priority Health and other major health plans.
