German Healthcare Startup Patient 21 has set the record of becoming the first health startup in Europe to receive the biggest raise of €100m in a Series C funding round. With this investment secured, the company has plans to expand internationally.
Patient 21 specialises in acquiring and outfitting dental clinics with its proprietary management software for appointment booking and patient data. The startup also provides a patient-facing health platform allowing them to look at their digital case history, access diagnosis and plan treatment. Patient 21 owns and manages all of its clinics.
The company has more than doubled the number of dental clinics it manages from 19 to 43 in the past 18 months, making it the fourth-largest dental provider in Germany. According to the startup. Patient21 has also launched four GPs and six women’s health clinics in that time.
Patient 21 strongly believes that the doctor-patient relationship is central to optimal healthcare. The company’s two Co-Founders, Chris Muhr and Nicolas Hantzsch, share the same drive of building a digital platform that helps to operate and network clinics so that value-based healthcare finally becomes a reality.
The new funding was led by new investor Pitango, joined by Bertelsmann Investments and Artian, and supported by existing investors Target Global, Piton Capital, PICO Venture Partners. Patient21 plans to spend part of the equity building out a generative AI tool to help medical professionals diagnose from X-rays, which Muhr says will be released by the end of 2023.
The startup will also work towards selling its software platform to other clinics as a white-label solution starting in 2024.
Muhr said, “I can imagine some form of hybrid model where we form partnerships with doctors and sell our platform to clinics we don’t own. That could happen in the form of a franchise or partnership.”
Patient 21 also hopes to expand into two more European countries in the next 12 months, although Muhr is coy about exactly which. It will start by launching 10-15 dental clinics across those markets, in addition to 40-50 new clinics in Germany in the next 12 months.
Moreover, further down the road, there could be scope for Patient 21 to licence out its booking and patient-management software.
Muhr added, “long-term we believe there will be an opportunity to form partnerships or to run clinics in the form of a franchise model, providing franchisees with software and services offering that is unique in the market.”
Sources: Patient21,Techcrunch, Sifted
